Obviously take this for what it's worth just as an opinion from a goalie who likes to think he can assess talent, but from watching highlights I don't really see a hidden gem in Taylor nor do I see him likely sticking in the NHL for long. On one hand he's put up decent numbers in scattered through different of years in the AHL, but if you think about it on the other hand then you have to wonder why someone with that success hasn't been able to garner more interest as an NHL option. Obviously some guys get unlucky being stuck on a deep depth chart and stuff, but still you have to think he's really failed to impress enough in his NHL camps. From both looking at his career stats and highlights I see a guy that just isn't quite good enough to take it to the next level.
As for his good performance this year, I see it as part of normal ups and downs that goalies go through more than a breakout. Of course he's still young enough to be developing and some goalies will grow in leaps and bounds rapidly from where he's at. As nice as it is when it happens, it's still usually a longshot and hot streaks are just way more common. Wherever Taylor fits into our plans obviously depends on where all our goalies will be next year, but I do think he's a good short-term option to have around if needed to help the Heat out and keep an eye on. He should probably be rewarded with an invite to the Flames' main camp in fall to have a look at.
I'm not entirely sure if Feaster is just saying what he has to about Ramo while he tries to bring him over for next year or not, but he does seem genuine in saying he'll be in the KHL for another year. It does seem to fit well into a plan of trying to rebuild on-the-fly while trying to remain competitive. It would allow a year to see Irving play 20 games behind Kipper rather than having two question marks in goal and hoping for the best with Irving and Ramo. On the other hand Kipper is probably one of the Flames' easiest and most valuable assets to move if you want to really shake things up.
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