The Ottawa Senators likely made a mistake when they traded Filip Gustavsson for Cam Talbot in the offseason. The much younger Gustavsson has outperformed expectations with the Minnesota Wild, essentially supplanting Marc-Andre Fleury as the team’s starter and posting a .928 save percentage over 27 appearances. Talbot, meanwhile, has struggled with injury for Ottawa and has a .905 through 29 appearances.
The gamble, though, always came with an out clause for the Senators. If the team wasn’t in a position to contend for the Stanley Cup or extension talks went south with the veteran goaltender, they could always flip him at the deadline to a team looking for some experience in the crease. Talbot does not hold any trade protection in his contract, and the front-loaded deal is inexpensive enough to make it work even for cap-strapped contenders.
That appears to be what will happen over the next week, as several reports suggest that Talbot is on his way out of town. Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest tweets that Talbot is “likely on the move” at the deadline and lists the Vegas Golden Knights, Los Angeles Kings and Buffalo Sabres as potential fits. Strickland adds that the goaltender recently turned down an extension; Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia confirms that the Senators spoke with Talbot’s camp last month and couldn’t find any traction on a new deal.
Kevin Weekes of ESPN also has heard that Talbot is drawing interest from around the league, listing the Kings, Golden Knights and Calgary Flames as potential destinations.
While there are some red flags for Talbot’s future in the league—he’ll turn 36 in July, has dealt with injuries and is in the midst of one of the worst seasons of his career—there’s also reason to believe he could help a club looking to shore up its goaltending depth for a postseason run. As recently as 2021, Talbot posted a .923 save percentage in seven postseason games for the Wild, as they pushed the Golden Knights to the brink in a first-round matchup. Though his experience is relatively limited (33 games), he does have a career .921 save percentage in the playoffs.
If the Senators can recoup an asset, the trade won’t go down as a total bust. Still, watching Gustavsson succeed in Minnesota has to be a bit painful, even with the handful of young goaltenders in the Ottawa system who have shown well in limited opportunities this season.
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