Close, but no cigar.

The Florida Panthers, who were interested in acquiring Cam Talbot from the New York Rangers, thought they had landed the goaltender for a package of picks and forward Jimmy Hayes, reports George Richards of the Miami Herald.

"We were one of the finalists - it was down to the wire," general manager Dale Tallon said. "It was obviously between us and Edmonton. There were four or five in the mix and it came down to the two of us. I guess they wanted Cam to play out west, so that didn't work in our favor. It just didn't happen."

Also from Richards:

Florida was offering a collection of draft picks (believed to be its two in the third round as well as one in the fifth) and, according to the New York Post, restricted free agent Jimmy Hayes.

Talbot ended up being traded to the Edmonton Oilers for a different collection of picks and will likely earn the starting job for the rebuilding franchise, rather than back up Roberto Luongo in Florida, a position that will probably fall in the lap of Al Montoya, who is signed through next season.

"We want Al Montoya to come back and play well," Tallon said.

Talbot, 27, earned a record of 21-9-4 with a goals-against average of 2.21 and a save percentage of .926 in 36 appearances.



