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After acquiring Brett Connolly from the Tampa Bay Lightning in the middle of the night, the Boston Bruins made one more trade to bolster their club, trading forward Jordan Caron and a 2016 sixth-round pick to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for veteran forward Maxime Talbot and minor league forward Paul Carey.
Talbot, 31, had five goals and 15 points in 63 games for the Avs this season, and comes to Boston with term on his deal by way of a $1.8 million cap-hit through the 2015-16 season.
Talbot is known throughout the league as a vocal bottom-six energy presence, and is most known for scoring both of Pittsburgh’s goals in their Cup-winning Game 7 against the Detroit Red Wings in 2009. In total, Talbot’s postseason career includes 18 goals and 39 points in 84 games. He’s familiar with the East, too, as he played in both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia before being traded to Colorado last year.
The trade also puts an end to the Jordan Caron era, the Bruins’ first-round pick (25th overall) in 2009.
The 6-foot-3 Caron departs after tallying 12 goals and 28 points in 134 games with the Bruins from 2010 to 2015, including a line with zero goals and zero points in 11 games this season. Despite his size and knack for grittier goals, the Sayabec, Que. native struggled to become a fixture in Boston’s lineup, and was used as one of the B’s on-again, off-again fourth-line wingers this season.
It’s not the sexy trade that Bruins fans had hoped for -- nor did it address Boston’s defensive issues -- but it’s a deal that could have very well come from a morning waiver wire pickup that saw the Bruins lose center Craig Cunningham to the Arizona Coyotes for nothing. Cunningham, a 5-foot-9 forward that forechecks like a bat out of hell, was by most, projected to be the B’s fourth-line center next season, as the club will likely let Gregory Campbell ($1.6 million) walk via free agency. Talbot’s pickup addresses that potential void in their 2015 lineup, and for $900,000, as the Avalanche will retain half of Talbot's salary.
As for right now, Talbot's game for anything with his fourth NHL franchise.
"I'll play wherever they want me," Talbot, who can play all three forward positions, said in his introductory teleconference.
The B's also pick up former Boston College standout in Paul Carey in the trade, a 26-year-old AHLer with 40 goals and 89 points in 171 career games in the minors.
On their defensive front, Boston general manager Peter Chiarelli admitted that he did weigh the pros and cons of adding a rental defender. But at the end of the day, with prices high and options low, Chiarelli says that the club is going to rely on their youth in Providence, mentioning Joe Morrow, David Warsofsky, Zach Trotman, and even Chris Breen, as capable NHL fill-in options if the Black and Gold need it.
The B's closed out their deadline day dealings with a minor league move, too, moving Jared Knight (the 32nd overall in 2010, the second-round choice the Toronto Maple Leafs sent Boston in the Phil Kessel trade) to Minnesota for former first-round pick Zack Phillips.
Phillips, a 6-foot-1 forward drafted 28th overall in 2011, has seven goals and 15 points in 49 games for Minnesota's AHL affiliate, this season. In total, he has 27 goals and 75 points in 196 games in the minors.
Ty Anderson has been covering the Boston Bruins for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, is a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com