Can't help that the Leafs live rent-free inside my head.
If there was something I could do to stop it, I would.

Deal isn't without risk, as Gustavsson could certainly still figure things out, but as it stands, Ottawa was looking for a tandem goalie with Forsberg, and they probably weren't doing much better than Talbot.

There's also the free agent aspect of things. Pierre Dorion is signaling to the free agent class that he is not effing around and he is serious about building something real.

Dorion has had an absolute dynamite summer. So far at least I don't think any GM has done more to make his team better.

From the looks of it yes

I mean if we really think about it Soogard was showing signs of potentially playing in the NHL in 2-3 years so losing Guss might not be such a bad thing

I'll tack this on for any Wild fans who might not know about Filip Gustavsson.

First thing's first, his nickname is Goose, if you guys call him Gus the Bus like the TSN 1200 staff did I will never forgive you.

As for his play, there's reason to be excited. He's got good tools, his glove had is usually sharp and he has good lateral mobility. The problem last year seemed to be in his ability to read plays and keep positioning, and to play rebounds. Worth noting that he got a lot of play while the team was dealing with COVID and injuries, so he wasn't given a whole lot of help, but he certainly deserves a lion's share of the blame for his poor play. I don't think he's as bad as he was this year, but he's also not the unstoppable force he was in his first partial season in Ottawa.

For what it's worth, since he came to North America I've always sort of felt that he would be a Minnesota Wild one day. Don't really have a good explanation for why, but he's always had that vibe.

Yeah. I think this is a bet you make all day. Talbot is a goalie who has done it all, and will push Forsberg to be better in a way Gus was not ready to do. Having a guy you can give 40 games to will be good for Ottawa.

Yeah making him the #1 would not be a great idea as it seemed last year with the wild he was on and off and once they tandemed him with MAF his numbers went up

I could probs see

40 games Talbot
38 games Forsberg
4 games Soogard (Injuries do happen)

Fair trade. Sens get the better goalie and the wild save cap.

Fair deal, could favour Minnesota if Gus can bounce back under a better defence.

Ottawa has pretty low risk here, if they are out of the playoffs or if Forsberg is running with it, Talbot would still carry a lot of weight at the deadline to get a late first or second rounder.

Gus was not the guy after a so-so season last year. Seems to have confidence issues sometimes but this is common with younger people. Sogard, Mando and to some degree Leevi will give us lot's of security in net going forward.

GSG!

Shhhhh, don't bring logic into this forum. It contradicts people's emotional bias.

Cam Talbot is a great goalie. But I think the wild got the upper hand because Gustavsson is young and he is the future goalies for the wild, Talbot is in mid 30's not many year left in his tank. See how that goes this season coming

Like this trade for the Senators. It gives Sogaard and Merilainen a year more to develop while allowing Forsberg to keep to 25 to 30 starts. Talbot is a definite upgrade on Murray and a whole lot cheaper.

Useless step from Ottawa. They're not play-off contenders yet. I'd be fine with the couple of Forsberg and Gustavsson in the net.

Sens aren't far off. They're heavy in the Market for a top 4 Dman (linked to Weegar and Chychrun) and are a frontrunner for Giroux. No reason the team can't be a playoff contender.

I am sure I have been saying this for months, but the Senators weren't going to roll with 3 goalies, and Dorion wasn't going to trust Gustavsson to play 30-40 games in such an important year. Dorion's talk about having 3 goalies was him being polite about Murray and Gustavsson being shown the door.

Additionally, Gustavsson was a poison pill, because either he doesn't clear waivers and the Senators lose him for nothing, or he clears waivers and they have to pay him 1-way money to play in the minors.

This is a great trade for both sides. I am a bit surprised that it didn't take a pick on the Senators side to get this done. The Wild get cap space, and they have Fleury, who is capable of playing a very solid 60+ games in net. This puts them in a better position to develop Gustavsson as a backup in the NHL. The Senators starter is Forsberg, who unlike Murray is not a sure thing to deliver 60+ consistent games of hockey. This is why the Senators needed to go out and get an established veteran to be their #2 goalie.

In terms of real money salary, the Senators freed up 5.25M with the Murray trade and 825k with Gustavsson going to Minnesota. Talbot costs 3M. So they gave up a 3rd and a 7th to upgrade from Murray or Gustavsson to Talbot, while also freeing up a bit over 3 million in salary. That is a great series of movies for Dorion.

Gustavsson isn't our future. Jesper Wallstedt is our goalie of the future. It's just a matter of how soon that future is now that he's in North America.

The Senators need to make the playoffs.

Thomas Chabot and Brady Tkachuk apparently made it known to Dorion that they don't want to wait around. They need help in the form of star players.

3+ years into a rebuild, once a core is assembled, teams typically use the assets they accrue in a rebuild to fill out their roster via trades. This upcoming season is the sixth season of the Senators rebuild, and up until this summer they did not do that. They acquired stop gap veterans to eat minutes like Stepan, and the few stars they acquired like Dadonov and Murray completely failed.

They also need to build the season ticket base back up, both to make money, and also to possibly get the most out of a sale of the team.

The Senators need to win games this season.

Gustavsson took a huge step back last year, and showed he cannot compete at the NHL level.

The Senators are not in a position to develop Gustavsson in the NHL, and he is not waiver exempt so if they keep him they might lose him anyways. Additionally, he is on a 1-way contract, which means he costs the Senators about a million dollars to play in the AHL.

The Wild likely aren't that high on Gustavsson, but there are limited options for backup goalies. It is still possible that the Wild could go out and get a better backup, and Gustavsson will end up on waivers at the end of training camp. The Senators likely insisted on the Wild taking Gustavsson due to his 1-way money. I assume the Wild were fine with taking Gustavsson because they need a backup goalie, but it is entirely possible that they did not want him at all, and there wasn't much of a market for Talbot from any team without cap going back to Minnesota. While goalies are in high demand, most of the seats have been filled. Teams might have said we will give you a 3rd or 4th for Talbot, but you have to take back x or y contract to even out the cap. Minnesota can bury Gustavsson if they don't use him. so they dumped Talbot's entire cap.

Mads Sogaard is their goalie of the future.

Filip Gustavsson took a major step back, and was likely to end up on waivers. He may still end up on waivers if Minnesota gets another backup.



Who is available?

The only good starter is Kuemper. He is unlikely to come to Ottawa, and Ottawa is unlikely to devote the 5-6 years of term and trade protection needed to sign him.

What you're saying is a contradiction, because if they sign another goalie, they will lose Gustavsson to waivers. They aren't rolling with three goalies. Teams don't do that for an extended period of time.

Gustavsson is not a promising prospect. He has high upside, but has taken a major step back, and needs to either find a team who can stomach their way through his development in the NHL, or somehow find his way through waivers back to the AHL on a team that has starting minutes for him. Which even if he clears, is not the Senators, since developing the much higher ceiling Mads Sogaard is a greater priority.

The Senators gave up a sunk cost and cap space for Talbot, that's it. The point of acquiring Talbot is to get a veteran backup or 1B type. They aren't developing Gustavsson in the NHL in what will be a crucial year for them. They need to make the playoffs.

start charging them rent at least

Its good rn

I liked Gustavsson and honestly he could be a fine tandem guy or backup soon

With all the Boston injuries why not go for it now. The 4th spot is wide open for them and by the time Boston gets healthy it could be to late

Heck with Krejci and Bergeron probs signing for only a year Ottawa might move them out of the big 4 spot soon

Minnesota wins. Gustavsson is going to be gooooooood! Pens legend haha

I love this move for the Sens and really like it for Minnesota - I'd call it a fair deal all around.

Talbot teams up with Forsberg to continue the Summer of Dorion - extremely excited to see what happens at noon tomorrow. Sens have a strong top 6, have 3/4 of a stellar top 4, and now have a trustworthy goalie tandem. Gustavsson is a good chip for them to cash in when they have AHL goalie depth with higher upside and more invested in them: Sogard was a 2nd round pick, Leevi Merilainen is a 3rd round pick from 2020, and Goose is a guy that they got as part of trading Derick Brassard in 2018. This really signifies that Ottawa wants to compete this year and I really think they're close.

I'd be a -little- concerned with Minnesota's goalie depth in case MAF gets hurt but I think letting Gustavsson learn as his understudy is going to help make the transition to Jesper Wallstedt much easier. And don't sleep on Zane McIntyre as Minnesota's 3rd goalie in the AHL - he's not a sexy name but I think he has the ability to step up and hold his own if one of their main guys gets hurt.

This is a good move for both teams. Pretty simple.