Well, it happened! We had just talked about how the Flyers were rumored to be in talks with Edmonton over Cam Talbot, and now, at midnight, they’ve announced that the trade has officially been made; a one-for-one deal that sends Anthony Stolarz the other way.
TRADE ALERT: The #Flyers have acquired goaltender Cam Talbot from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for goaltender Anthony Stolarz. https://t.co/mzPANUwVSG
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) February 16, 2019
Stolarz, 25, has appeared in 12 games for the Philadelphia Flyers this season, posting a .902 save percentage on his way to a 4-3-3 record. The 6’6” netminder missed almost the entirety of last season with a knee injury, but has been enjoying a comeback season that saw him back in the NHL where he had previously played just seven games. The 2012 second-round pick had at one point served as the third-string goaltender in the AHL prior to his recall in late November, but since then has been a mainstay with the Flyers outside of a quick conditioning stint in January.
For a look at who the Flyers are adding, here’s an excerpt from what we had to say about Talbot’s season two days ago, when we discussed the possibility of him being traded to Philadelphia.
Out of the 29 goalies across the league who have played in 30 games or more this season, Talbot is dead last in save percentage and 28th in GAA despite seeing the sixth-fewest shots among the group. At 5-on-5 the numbers don’t get too much prettier for Talbot. Of the 29 goalies who have played 1,300 5-on-5 minutes or more in 2018-19, Talbot is 24th with a .911 save percentage, 21st with a .971 low-danger save percentage, and 27th with a .757 high-danger save percentage. Of the 31 games he’s played in this season, Talbot has posted a save percentage of .900 or lower in 18 of the tilts.
He’s been bad, there’s no way to sugarcoat it — he’s had a really bad season thus far. However, he’s had two seasons as the Oilers’ starter where he finished with a save percentage above league average, so his history points towards this season being an outlier. With the trade being one goaltender for another, this doesn’t change much to the Flyers current situation. They still have a lot of goaltenders that have been NHL regulars.
It feels likely that a good portion of the Flyers’ remaining 25 games will be used to determine whether Talbot should be re-signed or if they should look elsewhere for a backup to Carter Hart next season.
