I think we can send Talbot to Providence for a month (or, rather, a month since he cleared), and he's immune to waivers. After that, he has to clear again.
That was probably the strategy Sweeney used. Clear him now when teams don't need him. Later in the season, this year's standings will be used to determine waiver priority; you could also do it early to make sure a waived player goes to one team (say, Edmonton) instead of another (say, Pittsburgh) if Pittsburgh looks like it may drop below Edmonton in the near future and you don't want your waived player in Pittsburgh.
Right now, last year's standings are used for the first month or so - thus, the standings are static.