Edmonton Oilers Pick Up Former Flyers Goalie Anthony Stolarz

Time will tell how the goalie trade between the Philadelphia Flyers and Edmonton Oilers will work out for both teams. For now, however, it looks like a ‘win/win’ situation. The Flyers hope that Cam Talbot can be a capable backup to rookie Carter Hart and stabilize what has been a ‘revolving door’ at the goaltender position. Talbot, who can become an unrestricted free agent after this season, hopes that he can play well enough to secure a longer term deal either with the Flyers or another team.

For the Edmonton Oilers, it’s a chance to begin addressing the issues caused by the dismal reign of former GM Peter Chiarelli. Adding Anthony Stolarz allows the Oilers to ‘get younger’ at the netminder position. Stolarz is 25, Talbot is 31. He’ll get every opportunity to establish himself with the team and to compete for the starting job with Mikko Koskinen. For Stolarz, he gets an opportunity to prove himself in a perfect situation. He kind of got lost in the shuffle in the always chaotic goaltending situation in Philly though he’s looked decent in his 14 career starts with a 2.86 goals against average and a .911 save percentage.

Talbot enjoyed his best years with the New York Rangers. His final two seasons in New York saw him compile a record of 33-15-5, with a 2.00 goals-against average and .931 save percentage. Talbot parlayed this run into a starting job with the Oilers but after a good first season has gone downhill ever since. The Flyers are hoping that the veteran goalie will benefit from a new opportunity. Talbot has another upside–he’s an off-season training partner with 20 year old Flyers’ starter Carter Hart and he’s expected to help develop the talented youngster.

Not everyone in Philadelphia is happy about the trade. The expectation is for Hart to be the team’s goalie of the future but Stolarz is well regarded by the organization as well as the fanbase. BroadstreetHockey.com calls Stolarz ‘an easy guy to root for’. Even GM Chuck Fletcher admits that letting Stolarz go is a ‘calculated risk’:

“Anthony has 19 career (NHL) games under his belt Carter’s in his first year, so there’s an element of inexperience we’re dealing with. “We have an opportunity to acquire Cam and see what he can do down the stretch and if there’s a fit going forward. I guess it’s a calculated risk but to me it makes perfect sense.’’

There’s also a contrarian case to be made as articulated by Rob Parent:

For in giving up Anthony Stolarz in a straight-up deal for Talbot near the Midnight hour Friday night, Fletcher appeared to give up on a young goalie who recently was turning in some very impressive performances.

Stolarz has had significant knee issues that have required surgery but he’s a technically sound goalie. Plus he’s 6’6″ and that’s something you can’t coach. Interesting trivia note–Stolarz is the first native New Jersey product to play goalie in the National Hockey League. Unlike Parent, I’m not sure that the ‘die is cast’ as far as Stolarz becoming the backup in Edmonton. It’s not like Mikko Koskinen is the second coming of Grant Fuhr or Andy Moog. With a few strong showings he could very easily take over the starting job or get the opportunity to do so next season.