NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 02: Chris Kreider #20 of the New York Rangers scores a first period goal against Cam Talbot #33 of the Ottawa Senators at Madison Square Garden on March 02, 2023 in New York City. The Senators defeated the Rangers 5-3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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.
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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.
Now, Onto Filip Gustavsson
Goaltender Filip Gustavsson was drafted in the second round of the 2016 NHL draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Two years later, on February 23rd, 2018, he would be traded in part of a package to the Ottawa Senators in order to acquire center Derick Brassard. Upon his acquisition, Gustavsson would be regarded as the Goaltender of the Future by many (including myself), and would play two full seasons in the AHL with the Belleville Senators before flirting with the NHL in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.
Ultimately, Gustavsson would lose favor in the Senators’ organization, and with the likes of Mads Sogaard, Kevin Mandolese, and Leevi Merilainen all knocking on the doorstep for his roster spot, it was time for Pierre Dorion to make a decision.
As mentioned above, the trade was completed to send Talbot to Ottawa in exchange for Gustavsson. Ottawa got a veteran goaltender coming off of a great year to help sure things up in net while Minnesota would receive a struggling young goalie looking for a new breath of fresh air.
Comparing a trade that happened less than a year ago is not always fair, because each trade is completed for a different reason. In this case, the Ottawa Senators wanted to assure they had strong goaltending depth as they begin the next step of their rebuild and begin to contend for the playoffs every year. At the time, Gustavsson was not a sure-fire option in net, and as of right now, it could be argued that he’s not a sure-fire thing yet. It’s his first season with the wild, and I’m curious as to see what his next step is. So far, this season he has gone 20-9-5 with a .933S% and a 2.01 GAA while Cam Talbot has gone 16-14-1 with a .902S% and 2.86 GAA. The Minnesota Wild are currently fighting to reach first place in the Western Conference while the Senators are struggling to reach the final wildcard. I think it’s fair to say that in year 1, the Wild are leading the conversation of who won, but the conversation isn’t over yet. I look forward to revisiting this trade in the future.
