While it's unlikely to win new Bruins GM Don Sweeney any points with the recently disgruntled - and likely in some cases, outright disgusted - Boston faithful, it seems fans enamored of gritty fourth-liner Max Talbot can at least rest easy knowing the grizzled veteran won't suffer the same fate as "foundational" pieces Dougie Hamilton or Milan Lucic.
Talbot's name had popped up in trade rumors recently in the wake of Sweeney's decision to swing an inexplicable deal for Zac Rinaldo with the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for - again, inexplicable - a 2017 third-round pick. Talbot took to Twitter on Monday to debunk those reports.
Just heard about the rumors. Wow Twitter is an interesting thing! #Neverhappened #GoBruinsGo
— Max Talbot (@Max25talbot) June 30, 2015
Rinaldo and Talbot play a similar game as energetic fourth-liners who bring grit and toughness along with a fair amount of skill and can drop the gloves when necessary.
It seems Talbot though, acquired from the Avalanche along with Paul Carey in exchange for Jardon Caron and a 2016 sixth-round pick, never asked to be sent elsewhere and really, there's not much reason for Sweeney to ship him out. He's got a very favorable cap hit of just $900,000, though his salary is $1.8 million, due to the fact that the Avs picked up half the value of his contract in order to complete the trade with Boston, per Jared Clinton of The Hockey News.
Talbot, 31, is several years older than Rinaldo, 25, but he's a valuable player who has 89 career goals and 197 career points in 666 NHL Games. It looks like, for the time being at least, that both former Flyers will remain in Boston and likely man the same unit in 2015-16.
Elsewhere along the Bruins lineup, the team made official the four-year contract extension for defenseman Adam McQuaid, which was originally announced immediately after the team traded Hamilton to the Calgary Flames.
"Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced today, June 30, that the team has signed Adam McQuaid to four year contract extension through the 2018-19 season at an NHL cap figure of 2.75 million per year," reads the team's statement announcing the deal.
"In his sixth season with Boston, McQuaid competed in 63 games, recording one goal and posting six assists with 85 penalty minutes. In total, the 28-year-old blueliner has played in 283 games at the NHL level -- all with Boston -- racking up 9-34=43 totals, while amassing 430 penalty minutes."
McQuaid is certainly no Hamilton and his signing likely won't take the sting out of that trade for fans of the black and gold, but McQuaid's a big, solid defender who can lock down third-pairing minutes for the Bruins the next few seasons.
