The 31 year-old goaltender has played in just two games since his arrival back in February, begging the question as to why the Philadelphia Flyers traded for him in the first place.
Lost in the midst of a late season chase for a Wild Card spot, the usage of Cam Talbot since he was acquired by Philadelphia Flyers General Manager Chuck Fletcher has been baffling to say the least.
Talbot, who was brought in from the Edmonton Oilers in a one-for-one trade for Anthony Stolarz, has seen a total of 93:27 of Time on Ice since his acquisition in the middle of February. It’s not like he’s looked bad during that span either, posting a 2.57 Goals-Against Average with a .918 save percentage in the less than two games played with Philadelphia. With two solid performances under his belt, why hasn’t Interim Head Coach Scott Gordon found a way to start him more?
Part of the reason is the Flyers simply getting healthy in-net. Brian Elliott and Carter Hart are now back with the team, giving Gordon three options to choose from with 13 games to go in the year. No matter your personal opinion of Elliott’s abilities as a goaltender, he’s been good since return with just one sub .900% performance in his last nine games.
My question is why the journeyman didn’t see more time backing up Elliott while Hart was out with injury. Sure, Elliott didn’t give Gordon a whole lot of reasons to bench him as I mentioned above, but every goalie needs rest every once in a while. Playing a guy who hadn’t seen NHL action since November in five straight contests was a real puzzling move and Elliott can’t be relied upon to carry that heavy of workload anymore, even though he looked strong in doing so this time around.
This move would only make sense if Talbot is signed back in the offseason to back-up Hart, which is still entirely possible. He’s been more durable than Elliott the past few years and his great relationship with Hart on and off of the ice is a big plus too. Letting Talbot walk in free agency after using an asset to bring him in would be a waste, even if Stolarz didn’t have much value in the first place.
As it stands right now, Gordon will opt for a tandem of Hart and Elliott heading into the final stretch of the season. That could obviously change barring injury, but it’s looking like Talbot will spend the remainder of these games in the press box.