from Ben Arledge of ESPN,

The New York Rangers traded the wrong goaltender two years ago.

When Henrik Lundqvist was injured toward the end of the 2014-15 season, Cam Talbot stepped in and performed so well that many fans argued that he should start in the playoffs over the heralded No. 1 goalie. That was ridiculous from the start, and sure enough, doubters were shushed once the playoffs began. Lundqvist returned and posted a .928 save percentage and 2.11 goals-against average while bringing his team to Game 7 of the conference finals. He was a big part of the Rangers' deep playoff run. Nevertheless, the offseason brought about the "What to do with Talbot?" question.

On July 26, 2015, the Rangers sent Talbot and a seventh-round pick (No. 209 overall) to the Edmonton Oilers for a second-round pick (No. 57, subsequently traded to Washington), a third-round pick (No. 79) and a seventh-round pick (No. 184). Talbot was coming off an impressive performance in the season's second half and was entering the final year of his contract, set to become an unrestricted free agent the following summer. It made sense at the time. The out-of-nowhere goalie was at peak value and would likely be lost to free agency in a year's time. After all, it was the Henrik Lundqvist to whom Talbot was playing second fiddle, so the opportunity for him in New York was limited.

As the Rangers have consistently done over the past 10 years, they went all-in on the now.

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