Buffalo Sabres Potential Trade Options: Cam Talbot
Last season was one that say the New York Rangers taking home the presidents trophy. In that span of time, there was a period where All Star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist went down with an injury. In the wake of that injury, the New York Rangers had a bright diamond shining through for them in goaltender Cam Talbot.
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With the skills that he displayed in that time, and the consistency he showed while still being in the shadow of King Henrik in New York, The Rangers know that there is no use in keeping him and stinting his development. That has sparked some debate on where he should be traded to as a result.
I say that the Buffalo Sabres should make a distinct effort to bring him in as their starting goalie. He has great numbers and a steady head to add into the equation.
Cam Talbot was brought into the league as a 26 year old underrated goaltender, and in his first season as Lundqvist’s backup a couple of seasons ago, he posted phenomenal numbers. He played 21 games; having a record of 12-6-1 (with three shutouts) while adding a 1.68 GAA and a .941 SV%. For a first year pro, he played unreal.
This past year was the season where he had a chance to back up the hype of his stats with some more stellar play. As Lundqvist wen down with injury, Talbot had the opportunity to play more. He played a total of 36 games last season and posted a record of 21-9-4 (with five shutouts) and added a GAA of 2.21 and a .926 SV%. With those stats, he has a career record of 33-15-5 (with 8 shutouts) and a career GAA of 2.00 and a SV% of .931.
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From a 27 year old goaltender that has obviously developed well, he is a premier target for the Buffalo Sabres who are still in desperate need of a goaltender. The Rangers are a pretty deep team overall, so the Buffalo Sabres may have to give up a little youth from their prospect pool in order to grab Talbot.
Perhaps Tim Murray could use his bold approaches to trade a few of his extra picks in this year’s draft or next year’s (considering he did refer to draft picks as valuable assets at he trade deadline this year).
I don’t believe the Buffalo Sabres would have to break the bank in order to land Talbot from the Rangers. Talbot will be a free agent this year and the Rangers won’t let him walk for nothing, but they will be asking a good price for him. With other teams still having some starting goalie troubles (i.e San Jose, Calgary, and Edmonton) there is likely to be a bit of a bidding war for him.
As far as my opinion goes, I feel that Talbot is the best choice goaltender for the Buffalo Sabres at this time. He is young and ripe at the age of 27 and he still has a number of years as a starter before he begins to slow down. By the time that day comes, the Buffalo Sabres prospect goaltenders (i.e Linus Ullmark, Andrey Makarov) will be a the right age to challenge him for the starting job.
I say the Buffalo Sabres should do what they must in order to take Cam Talbot off of the Rangers hands.
Next: Sabres Potential Prospects: Kyle Connor
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