On this day in 2019, the Edmonton Oilers traded goaltender Cam Talbot to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Anthony Stolarz.
The one-for-one goalie swap marked one of the first moves to be made in the post-Chiarelli era of the organization, with the ex-Oilers GM having been fired three weeks prior.
Talbot came to the Oilers after stealing the spotlight with the New York Rangers in 2014-15 with an injury to star netminder Henrik Lundqvist. Talbot posted five shutouts in 34 games, which prompted a bidding war amongst teams for the goaltender.
The Oilers ultimately were the lucky ones, giving up three picks in the 2015 draft — a seventh-round pick (Adam Huska), a second-round pick (traded to Washington, Jonas Siegenthaler), and a third-round pick (Sergey Zborovskiuy) — to acquire the 28-year-old.
Talbot worked out well in Edmonton and held his ground as one of the top goaltenders in the league for two seasons. The only problem was the Oilers were heavily relying on the backstop as in those two seasons, he led all goaltenders for most games played (73 in 2016-17 and 67 in 2017-18).
Fatigue set in during the 2017-18 season, but he really began to slip in 2018-19. Although his workload wasn’t as heavy, his goals against average sunk from 2.39 in 2016-17 to 3.40 in 2018-19, and that wasn’t the only number that reflected the cracks.
However, with cap space issues on the rise, interim general manager Keith Gretzky made a decision just as the clock struck midnight, and the Oilers’ netminder was off to Philadelphia.
“We were able to acquire a younger goaltender to free up (cap) room, which is important for us,” Gretzky told the Edmonton Sun’s Jim Matheson.
“Anthony’s a big goalie who’s played well (.902 save percentage) this year in Philadelphia. We’re looking forward to having him in the organization.”
Talbot made three starts with the Flyers with a 1-2-0 record. Come free agency, he opted to sign with the Oilers’ provincial rivals, the Calgary Flames, as a free agent.
The goaltender not only showcased one of the most exciting playoff performances for the Oilers in 2016-17 but also made 227 appearances between the pipes for the club with a 104-95-19 record throughout four seasons.
Although Stolarz came at a light price for the Oilers at $766,000 compared to Talbot’s $4.1 million, he ended up playing the backup role to Mikko Koskinen, who stole the starting position between the pipes following the departure of Talbot.
Stolarz got the nod for two starts with the Oilers, both of which resulted in losses. He eventually signed as a free agent with the Anaheim Ducks in July 2019, and now plays for the Florida Panthers.
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