Talbot traded to Flyers by Oilers

Cam Talbot was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers by the Edmonton Oilers for goalie Anthony Stolarz on Friday.

Talbot was 10-15-3 with a 3.36 goals-against average and .893 save percentage this season for Edmonton. The 31-year-old was the No. 1 goalie for the Oilers the past three seasons but was replaced in that role by Mikko Koskinen after Ken Hitchcock took over as coach Nov. 20 when Todd McLellan was fired.
Talbot would be the eighth goalie to play for the Flyers this season.
"I'm excited about the opportunity," Talbot said Saturday. "I'm excited to come in and play behind a team that's been rolling as of late. I've heard nothing but good things about the group in the room and obviously my relationship with Carter [Hart] has been well-documented. So I'm excited to get going with him as well and do my best to help them along and hopefully find a future down the road. Just focused on coming in now and helping the playoff push."
The Flyers plan to take a good look at Talbot, who can become an unrestricted free agent July 1.
"Cam is a veteran goaltender," general manager Chuck Fletcher said. "He's played over 280 games (284) in the NHL and he has size, he has athleticism and he has good experience. He's a guy that certainly we're excited to acquire. We'll try to get him in the net as soon as we can and see what he can do.
"Cam's a goalie that's had some success and for us it's an opportunity to see what he looks like playing for the orange and black and see how he does. It's as simple as that. I guess it's a calculated risk. But for me it makes perfect sense for us to get to know Cam and for Cam to get to know us. And if it fits well we can move forward. If not then it doesn't. It's just as simple as that."

Hart has started 19 of 27 games for Philadelphia since Dec. 18, when he made his NHL debut. The 20-year-old is 12-6-1 with a 2.62 GAA and .921 save percentage.
Hart, who is from Sherwood Park, Alberta, about 10 miles east of Edmonton, worked out with Talbot last offseason.
"He's a great mentor. He's a great goalie. He's a great guy,"
Hart told the Courier Post on Thursday
after rumors surfaced that the Oilers and Flyers were discussing a trade for Talbot. "He's the guy I called before my first start just to ask him about pregame jitters and what to expect and everything."
Fletcher said the relationship between Hart and Talbot was not a driving force behind the trade.
"That didn't have much to do with it for me," Fletcher said. "This is an opportunity to get a guy that's been a No. 1 in the League, he's been a No. 2 in the League. ... I think he'll just give this organization a shot in the arm right now. And then forward ,we'll see how that plays out. It had much more to do with Cam being a good goaltender as opposed to being a good mentor."
The Flyers (27-24-7), who defeated the Detroit Red Wings 6-5 in overtime at home Saturday, are 11-1-1 in their past 13 games and six points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. They play at the Red Wings on Sunday (6 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV).
Talbot is 137-110-24 with a 2.59 GAA, a .915 save percentage and 20 shutouts in 284 games with the Oilers and New York Rangers.
"The opportunity with that roster, I was pretty excited about it so it didn't take me too long to waive my no-move once they asked," said Talbot, who had a 10-team no-trade clause, which the Flyers were not on. "I'd be more than open (to re-signing). I don't think I would have waived my [no-trade clause] if it wasn't something that I saw as more than a six- or seven-week opportunity, so to uproot my family and stuff like that I saw hopefully a future here."
Fletcher did not rule more moves by Philadelphia heading into the NHL Trade Deadline on Feb. 25 at 3 p.m. ET.
"That's hard to predict," he said. "Certainly the level of phone activity has picked up the past week. This trade kind of came together fairly quickly. It's just hard to say. If we can find a way to improve our team we'll certainly look at anything. Whether it's now or in the summer; just continuing to make calls and answer calls and see what opportunities might be out there."
Stolarz was 4-3-3 with a 3.33 GAA and .902 save percentage in 12 games this season for Philadelphia. The 25-year-old is 6-4-4 in 19 NHL games, all with the Flyers, who selected him in the second round (No. 45) of the 2012 NHL Draft.
Edmonton signed Koskinen to a three-year, $13.5 million contract Jan. 22.
"We had to make a decision between Mikko and Cam," Oilers Entertainment Group CEO and vice chair Bob Nicholson said at the time. "We made that decision to go with Mikko and sign him to a three-year deal. Cam Talbot is still a big part of this team and he's been a great teammate."
The Oilers (24-28-5) are 1-7-2 in their past 10 games after a 3-1 loss at the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. They are tied with the Anaheim Ducks for sixth in the Pacific Division.
NHL.com deputy managing editor Adam Kimelman contributed to this report