Will Talbot, Ingram find teams for next season?
As we go through the third day of free agent season in the NHL, the pool of talent continues to dwindle. However, there are a number of players who can make an impact if given a chance.
Among the notable names of unrestricted free agents left unsigned – Anthony Mantha, Patrick Kane, Claude Giroux – there are a couple of netminders who are still on the board, despite having played considerable minutes in the NHL for the last few years. Cam Talbot and Connor Ingram are both waiting for the call.
Talbot is coming off a couple of tough seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, where he failed to lead the team to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and lost the starting job to John Gibson last season. Ingram might not be on anyone’s radar as an elite netminder, but he played well enough to be the Edmonton Oilers‘ No. 1 guy heading into the postseason. However, he and the team ended up being knocked out by the Anaheim Ducks in the first round.
On Friday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Carter Hutton explains why the two veteran goaltenders are big question marks as we delve deeper into the summer.
Carter Hutton: So, Cam Talbot is the interesting one for me. At 38, he’s still very reliable. I put him in that like James Reimer-esque situation we saw from last year. Talbot is still very capable of helping you win hockey games and being a stopgap if a guy gets hurt and he needs to hang your team around. So I expect him fully to get a job at some point as the dust settles.
Now for Connor Ingram is an interesting one to me. Like, what else does he have to do? His numbers have been well. He played very good last year for the Edmonton Oilers. It didn’t work out. He’s the one where maybe did he have an offer on the table and he waited a little bit too long and he was the guy that got caught holding the bag when other guys took smaller deals or they went to their number two guy and got it?
So, Ingram is a guy to keep an eye on. But one thing this league has taught us over the years is – goalie depth is so valuable. He has put up pretty good numbers in a day and age where offense is so high, it’s harder to upgrade great save percentages. He’s been really good over the last few years in the NHL.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…