Cam Talbot is starting material and what that means

Cam Talbot is starting to put to bed any doubts that he isn’t starter material and is fasting becoming an extremely useful asset for the Rangers. The numbers from the past few weeks bear repeating. Talbot has posted a 3-0-1 record, along with a 0.99 GAA, a .966 SV% (112 saves on 116 shots), and 1 shutout in his last four appearances which alone is incredibly impressive before you even consider who he’s put those numbers up against.

Talbot’s last four appearances have been against the Predators at home and on the road against the Red Wings, Hawks and the Islanders. All four clubs are in the league’s top ten in points and are all rightly tabbed as playoff contenders, so Talbot isn’t just getting the ‘soft games’ like when Henrik Lundqvist previously might have needed a rest.

Fact is, recently Talbot has been nothing short of sensational and has been so at a time when he’s been needed most. The Rangers scoring has dried up as of late just as the schedule has got (much) tougher, so Talbot has not had room for error. Meanwhile he has started 16 of the last 17 games, proving he can handle a heavy load. He has a higher win percentage than Lundqvist and has matched the Rangers uber goalie and resident King in almost every key statistic.

Enough with the regurgitating of statistics for a minute however. Kevin did a great job going through it earlier. We know Talbot has had his shaky moments and at the beginning of this long stretch without Lundqvist, doubts were certainly there as to whether he could handle a starters load as he looked shaky, tired, and, at times, his positional play was questionable. With all that considered, Talbot’s continued emergence has to be a win-win scenario for everyone involved even as a few question marks still remain.

Eventually Talbot will want to be a full time starter – or at least get the opportunity to try – so his motivations are obvious and the Rangers will clearly want him to succeed because right now Talbot is surely becoming a highly desirable trade commodity. Despite the new contract, or perhaps especially because of that, the Rangers might explore trading Talbot this summer. A potential starter with Talbot’s numbers for just under a $1.5 million cap hit? Despite the relatively shallow body of work there will surely be suitors. Talbot’s recent play (culminating in an NHL star of the week award) is garnering attention so teams will know what he is capable of.

Whether Talbot can be a full time starter is still very much in the air. He certainly doesn’t have the polished game of workhorse, star goalies such as Lundqvist, Carey Price, or Pekke Rinne, but he’s still relatively young, cheap, and is playing well in high pressure games. Can he play 50 or so games a year? At his cap hit, many teams will surely be willing to find out.

Look around the league for a moment. Anti Niemi has started 51 games, Ben Scrivens has started 42, Cam Ward 42, Jonas Hiller 37 and Brian Elliot has started 36. Without going through the full list of starters, there are plenty of goalies out there that are either past their prime or are far from appealing as long term options for their clubs. Right now the league will surely present an opportunity for Talbot to start if he continues to perform.

So Talbot continues to mind the King’s net. Of course, he is the beneficiary (when reviewing his statistics) of playing on one of the best teams in the league. Any suitor will rightly point to a lack of playoff experience (assuming Lundqvist makes it back as expected) so expectations for a huge haul – if the Rangers did seek to trade Talbot – should be tempered. That said, both sides will have an eye on the league’s goalie market and sense an opportunity.

If trade deadline prices are any indication at all, the Rangers could get themselves a solid return for Talbot and turn a free agent from Alabama into something meaningful long term. We all know how important asset management is in the cap era NHL. Both sides stand to gain thanks to Talbot’s current form – the win-win scenario continues.