Panthers almost nabbed Cam Talbot but lost to Edmonton

Draft days are excruciatingly stressful.  And nobody knows that better than the Florida Panthers.

Searching for a premier goalie, they had their sights set on Cam Talbot of the New York Rangers.

And they came close.  They were a finalist along with the Edmonton Oilers.  But they lost.

How’d they lose?

The Rangers preferred to ship Talbot over to the Western Conference.  A common and understandable move.

But that single decision made big ripples in the Pathers’ draft strategy.  On day 2, they gambled with two goalie picks.

In this day and age, you must have a strong goaltender to compete.  As we have seen from Crawford and Bishop, they don’t have to be perfect, but they have to be great more often than they are horrible.  Talbot fits this mold.  And now Florida had to roll the dice on draft picks.

The Miami Herald had this to say:

The Panthers added two goalies on the second and final day of the NHL Draft in Sunrise.

They just didn’t get the one they really wanted.

General manager Dale Tallon said the Panthers were hot on a deal with the New York Rangers for goaltender Cam Talbot and were pretty confident they were going to land the talented 28-year-old.

The Rangers instead sent Talbot to Edmonton in exchange for three draft picks (in the second, third and seventh round).

New York general manager Glen Sather was the coach and general manager during the Oilers’ glory years. There were reports that Sather could have traded Talbot for a first-round pick before the draft started but he held on to him until the draft’s second day.

Florida was offering a collection of draft picks (believed to be its two in the third round as well as one in the fifth) and, according to the New York Post, restricted free agent Jimmy Hayes.

Hayes’ younger brother Kevin just completed his rookie season with the Rangers. Jimmy Hayes scored a career-high 19 goals for the Panthers last season.

“We were one of the finalists — it was down to the wire,” Tallon said. “It was obviously between us and Edmonton. There were four or five in the mix and it came down to the two of us. I guess they wanted Cam to play out west, so that didn’t work in our favor. It just didn’t happen.”