Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion was quite busy throughout the summer to make sure he was putting a contender this season to get into the postseason.
With just four games to go, nothing is set in stone for the Senators as the battle is tight in the Eastern conference, but there is a sense that Ottawa will once again miss out on the postseason and there is already fingers getting pointed to the main reason why.
During the summer, Dorion acquired goalie Cam Talbot from the Minnesota Wild in return for netminder Filip Gustavsson in a one-for-one trade. And now looking back, this trade is coming back to haunt Dorion as the 2022-23 campaign comes to an end and the Senators aren’t in the playoff picture.
Talbot has not delivered in between the pipes for Ottawa and has been injured than ever before in his career. Meanwhile, Gustavsson has been a real revelation in Minnesota. When comparing the stats of the two goalies, there is a world of difference.
- 35-year-old Cam Talbot is 16-14-2 with a 2.89 goals-against average and .900 save percentage in 35 games this season. He is currently in the final year of his contract, which pays him $3.67 million. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
- 24-year-old Filip Gustavsson holds a 20-9-6 record with a 2.03 goals-against average and .932 save percentage in 36 games this season. He is currently playing the last year of his deal an AAV of $787,500. He will become a restricted free agent this summer.
On top of having four more victories in as many games than Talbot, Gustavsson allows an average of one less goal per game than the veteran goalkeeper, while their respective efficiency rates are simply not in the same league with Gustavsson ranking second in the entire NHL.
After Tuesday’s overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, the Senators are still six points from the last wild-card spot.
The Senators already had their number one goalie in Gustavsson before moving him to Minnesota and now, Dorion will have to spend the offseason fixing that mistake as Talbot likely won’t be back in Ottawa.
There is no doubt that Dorion made some good moves on the market lately, but you have to admit that this one was definitely a significant mistake.
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