The Ottawa Senators traded goaltender Filip Gustavsson to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Cam Talbot on July 12th, 2022
Entering last year’s offseason, General Manager of the Ottawa Senators Pierre Dorion made himself busy. Upon completing a trade to acquire Alex DeBrincat, and signing free agent Claude Giroux, Dorion decided to trade away struggling netminder Filip Gustavsson in exchange for veteran and all-star goaltender Cam Talbot. The acquisitions of Giroux and DeBrincat have produced tremendous value thus far, but Talbot hasn’t fared as well. Let’s talk about it.
Let’s talk about Cam Talbot
Last season, Cam Talbot had a great year in which he was able to make it to the All-Star Roster, representing the Minnesota Wild, in which he posted a 32-12-4 record with a save percentage of .911 and a goals-against average of 2.76. Talbot played in Minnesota for two seasons before making his way to the Nation’s Capital, but before we get to his time with the Sens, let’s try to understand his career a bit more.
Talbot was undrafted, and eventually signed with the New York Rangers organization with the original aspirations of being an AHL goaltender. Talbot would make the opening night NHL roster in the 2014-15 season, serving as the backup goaltender to Henrik Lundqvist. During his time with the Rangers, he would serve as a formidable backup.
Talbot proved too good to be just a backup and was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a second, third, and seventh-round pick at the 2015 NHL Draft.
Entering the 2015-16 season, he competed for the Oilers’ starting job with Anders Nilsson, which resulted in Nilsson being traded to the St Louis Blues, and eventually making his way to Ottawa (ironic, right?) The next year, Talbot would suit up in 73 games, sporting a 42-22-8 record with a .919 S% and 2.39 GAA, and would finish 4th in Vezina Trophy voting that season.
He would fare a little worse in the 2017-18 season, ending the season with a 31-31-3 record with a .908 S% and 3.02 GAA. The Oilers would fall off the face of the earth and with it, Talbout would too. He would be traded a few times before ending up with the Minnesota Wild and rejuvenating his career for the most part.
Entering last season’s trade deadline, Talbot’s play would slip a bit, and GM Bill Guerin would acquire future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury in a big to give goaltending more consistency and in order to have two all-star netminders at all times. During the offseason, Guerin would state numerous times that neither Talbot nor Fleury would be traded, as he liked having a solid tandem in net. Then it happened, the Ottawa Senators would send struggling goaltender Filip Gustavsson to the Wild in exchange for Cam Talbot, the trade was one-for-one.