The Buoyant Beat of Cam Talbot

He didn’t arrive with much fanfare but the resilient Cam Talbot feels determined to bring the LA Kings back to the playoffs and beyond.

Entering the 2023-24 season, goaltending was arguably the biggest question mark for the LA Kings.

After trading franchise netminder Jonathan Quick at last year’s trade deadline to losing Joonas Korpisalo to free agency, the Kings were back at the drawing board looking for a new starter. That, of course, is said with all due respect to Pheonix Copley, who went 24-6-3 in his maiden season for the silver-and-black last season. But to support Copley, the Kings made a pair of under-the-radar signings in netminders Cam Talbot and David Rittich. To suggest that some were underwhelmed by the signings is an understatement.

Then, the puck dropped on the new season.

Resurgence

While Rittich began the campaign in the AHL, Talbot began the year in Los Angeles. And what a start he had, going 12-4-1 with two shutouts. However, when Copley became sidelined for the remainder of the season, the aforementioned David Rittich was called up and shone in goal. Talbot, however, began to struggle mightily.

Between Dec. 28 and Jan. 26, the 36-year-old went 0-7-3. Conversely, Rittich took the opportunity to re-establish himself, going 5-2-0 during that stretch.

But Talbot wasn’t determined to let his season fall by the wayside.

On Feb. 18, the Caledonia, ON, native made 29 saves en route to a win in Pittsburgh. Two nights later, he made 32 saves en route to a victory in Columbus. Yet, while he took the loss in Calgary on Feb. 27, Talbot had another solid outing nonetheless with 33 saves, bailing out a very tired Kings team who had played — and lost — just the previous night.

Then came Thursday evening when the Kings visited the Pacific-leading Vancouver Canucks.

In VanCity, Talbot had probably his best game in 2024, turning away 23 shots en route to a 5-1 Kings victory. That win only solidified just how invaluable Talbot has been this season for the Kings, in spite of his cold streak earlier.

A Recent Roll

The veteran’s resilient play as of late did not go unnoticed by his coach.

“Yeah, absolutely. We had shot blocks, but when it finally made its way to Talbs, he was there to make the save,” said Jim Hiller following Thursday night’s win vs. the Canucks. “So, he’s back, he’s getting his mojo back again and it’s great to see, we’ll need that.”

As for the goaltender himself, he is certainly happy to be back in form after winning three of his last four.

“Absolutely. Just me personally, I wasn’t playing my best in January and the guys deserved better,” Talbot observed after his win in Vancouver. “And I knew that after the [All-Star] break, I needed to come out and do what I did to start the season. So, happy to be back in there on a regular basis and contributing.”

But the veteran was quick to deflect his own success onto the team overall.

“I think that was the best 60 [minutes] for us from start to finish,” he noted. “I can’t think of one fault in our game. We were fast in the offensive zone, taking the pucks side to side, really controlling the tone of the game. In the D-zone, we were defending, keeping to the outside, blocking huge shots — even in the last minute there. Guys were putting their bodies on the line and that’s what it takes to win in this league every night. That was definitely one of the best all-around games we played all year.”

What’s Next in Store

As reliable as both Talbot and Rittich have been recently, the LA Kings have reached an awkward spot, for lack of a better term.

With the annual trade deadline now less than a week away, there have been rumblings that the Kings may go after a more proven starter in goal. This, after all, may be one of GM Rob Blake‘s last chances to redeem himself. Of course, we don’t know what the Kings are going to pull off — if anything — by the deadline, but the fact remains: Cam Talbot has turned his underwhelming arrival into one of promise.

As the season continues, you can bet that a resurgent Cam Talbot will do whatever he can. He’ll do whatever he can to make a significant mark in his maiden season in the City of Angels.