"Shouldering" the Burden; Max Talbot

Last year it was Sergei Gonchar's dislocated shoulder surgery that deprived the Penguins of him for 5 months-at that was an early return. Now, Talbot decides to take care of his continuously popping shoulder, and who can blame him. It's also worthy noting that Talbot's surgery will not need as much recovery, only up to two months, and that Talbot is not as crucial to the Penguins' success. He doesn't hold together the powerplay, nor does he play on the first line.

Depending on how the Penguins choose to manage replacing Talbot while he recovers next year, his abscence could be a blessing in disguise for the team. Filling in Talbot's spot for 2 months does several things.

First, it gives Talbot a shorter season-one that he can hopefully take advantage of, to keep his game up in the playoffs. We saw how refreshed Gonchar looked in the playoffs, mostly because he didn't play a whole season, and had the energy to not only last through the games, but turn it up. Talbot is much younger than Gonchar, so if he gets a shorter season, he could really 'max out!' when it counts.

Second, it gives another guy a chance to perform on NHL ice. I said before, that this depends on how the Penguins manage the roster, but if they bring up a guy like Luca Caputi, they could be easing the transition for these guys. They won't have to replace a struggling or traded player, which tends to be more controversial. Instead, they'll just be filling in for the injured Talbot, and hopefully show us a preview of their abilities at the NHL level; maybe even prove to Bylsma that they deserve a roster spot when Talbot returns.

The team could easily move Pascal Dupuis up to the second line to fill in for Talbot, but Dupuis isn't very good on the right wing, and it would not be a very forward looking move for the organization. At some point this season we will see Caputi, so why not start him out in a specific window of time, and give him a chance to prove that he's worth more.

Although Talbot will be missed for the first 2 months of the season, it could very well benefit the Penguins in the long run. If they get Talbot's explosiveness at full force in the playoffs, and get a chance to see some young talent step it up, Talbot's injury will fall very short of a burden.