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Cam Talbot

Red Wings Sign Cam Talbot, William Lagesson

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Darren Dreger of TSN reports the Detroit Red Wings have signed goaltender Cam Talbot to a two-year, $5MM contract. Additionally, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff the Red Wings have also signed defenseman William Lagesson to a one-year contract paying him the league minimum of $775K.

Throughout the 2023-24 NHL season, the Red Wings used four different goaltenders as the team posted a .897 save percentage and a 3.33 GA/G. Hoping to rectify some of the inconsistency in the net, Detroit landed Talbot on a two-year deal after an impressive season with the Los Angeles Kings.

Playing on another one-year contract, Talbot posted a 27-20-6 record in 52 starts and a solid .913 save percentage behind a solid Kings’ defense. With one of the main criticisms behind the Red Wings’ poor goals-against being their defense, it will be interesting to see how Talbot can perform behind a less capable defensive structure. Additionally, if netminder Ville Husso can remain healthy for the 2024-25 season, head coach Derek Lalonde will get crafty in his decision-making to spread out the available starts.

Lagesson comes to the Motor City after a disappointing season split between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Anaheim Ducks. Likely destined for AHL Grand Rapids, the former fourth-round pick is coming off a season in which he scored only four assists in 40 games while averaging almost 15 minutes of ice time per game. Lagesson has value as a physical defenseman but shouldn’t factor in too much at the NHL level in a crowded Detroit blue line.

NHL Names Western Conference All-Stars

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Sportsnet is reporting that the NHL has named the first 16 selections from the Western Conference who will appear in the NHL All-Star Game that will take place February 3rd in Toronto.

The game will be held in Canada for the first time since 2012, when it was held in Ottawa. Toronto hasn’t hosted the game since 2000 and this year will be the first time that the NHL uses a four-team, three-on-three format in combination with the fantasy draft format that was used from 2011-2015. The league will name four captains, one for each team, who will take part in a draft to select their teams on February 1st.

The initial players named from the Western Conference are as follows:

Central Division

Arizona: LW Clayton Keller (4th appearance)
Chicago: C Connor Bedard (1st appearance)
Colorado: C Nathan MacKinnon (3rd appearance)
Dallas: G Jake Oettinger (1st appearance)
Minnesota: LW Kirill Kaprizov (3rd appearance)
Nashville: C Filip Forsberg (1st appearance)
St. Louis: C Robert Thomas (1st appearance)
Winnipeg: G Connor Hellebuyck (3rd appearance)

Pacific Division

Anaheim: LW Frank Vatrano (1st appearance)
Calgary: C Elias Lindholm (1st appearance)
Edmonton: C Connor McDavid (7th appearance)
Los Angeles: G Cam Talbot (1st appearance)
San Jose: C Tomas Hertl (1st appearance)
Seattle: RW Oliver Bjorkstrand (1st appearance)
Vancouver: D Quinn Hughes (1st appearance)
Vegas: C Jack Eichel (1st appearance)

The initial announcements of 32 players (one player to represent each team) tonight will be followed by the naming of the final 12 all-stars in the coming weeks. Those 12 players will be decided by a fan vote on NHL.com as well as several of the NHL’s social media platforms.

Los Angeles Kings Sign Jean-François Bérubé To PTO

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CapFriendly is reporting that the Los Angeles Kings have signed goaltender Jean-François Bérubé to a professional tryout agreement. Bérubé will join netminders Pheonix Copley, Cam Talbot, and David Rittich in the collection of goalies who will vie for two NHL roster spots.

A native of Repentigny, Quebec, Bérubé spent last season with the Panthers’ organization playing for Charlotte in the AHL. While a member of the Checkers, Bérubé posted an .885 save percentage to go along with a 3.22 goals-against average in 19 appearances.

Bérubé was originally drafted into the NHL by the Kings back in 2009. The Kings selected the 32-year-old in the fourth round, 95th overall and he spent the first four professional seasons of his career with the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL.

It wasn’t until the 2015-16 season with the New York Islanders that Bérubé made his NHL debut. This kickstarted a three-year run in which he bounced back and forth between the NHL and AHL.

Bérubé’s last NHL appearances came with the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2021-22 season, where he dressed in six games, going 3-2-0 with a 4.12 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage.

Given his career numbers, and where his game was last season in the AHL, it seems unlikely that Bérubé will crack the Kings lineup and earn an NHL contract. However, he should be able to snag an AHL contract and play professional hockey in North America this season.

Cam Talbot Expected To Sign With Kings

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It appears that the Kings have their backup goalie.  Early this morning, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported there was a chance Cam Talbot would wind up with Los Angeles and it appears that will be the case as ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports (Twitter link) that the veteran will sign a one-year deal with the Kings.  Friedman also reports the deal is worth $1MM plus performance bonuses. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun clarifies the base salary is $775K, plus a $225K signing bonus and a $1MM bonus if Talbot plays 10 games.

The 35-year-old spent last season with Ottawa after indicating he wasn’t thrilled about the possibility of playing in a timeshare situation with Marc-Andre Fleury.  Unfortunately for Talbot and the Sens, things simply did not go well for him.  He battled injuries throughout the season and when he was healthy, he didn’t put up his best numbers, posting a 2.93 GAA along with a .898 SV%, numbers that are considerably worse than his career averages of 2.65 and .914 respectively.  When the Senators acquired Talbot, they hoped it could be the beginning of a longer-term relationship but after early extension talks went nowhere, they eventually declined to offer him a contract after the season.

Despite the poor showing last season, there’s reason for optimism for Los Angeles as Talbot posted a save percentage no lower than .911 in the previous three campaigns.  Accordingly, they feel that this could be just a blip on the radar.

They will be counting on Talbot to play a bigger role than he has had in recent years.  At the moment, Pheonix Copley is the incumbent backup after signing a one-year, $1.5MM deal back in February.  However, Copley’s career high in NHL games played in a single year is 37, set last season.  For most of his career, he has been a backup or even a third-string option.  As a result, the Kings will be counting on Talbot to be the strong-side option of their platoon.

While Talbot has long wanted to be a true starter, that opportunity hasn’t come along too often since leaving Edmonton back in the 2018-19 campaign.  Since then, he has only reached Copley’s 37-game mark once.  Barring another NHL goalie being signed, Talbot will have the opportunity to push for the true number one job in the hopes of creating a strong market for himself next summer.  At a minimum, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Kings add a veteran third-string option to play the role that they originally envisioned for Copley last season, giving them an experienced third netminder to turn to if need be.

In the meantime, this pushes Joonas Korpisalo, who played a key role for them down the stretch and in the playoffs, to the open market where he’ll be one of the top options on the board.

Ottawa Senators Will Not Re-Sign Cam Talbot

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The Ottawa Senators will not re-sign pending unrestricted free agent goalie Cam Talbot, general manager Pierre Dorion told reporters today.

Ottawa acquired Talbot in an off-season trade with the Minnesota Wild, parting with breakout star Filip Gustavsson in return. He played in 36 games during a tough, injury-plagued season in Ottawa, posting a 17-14-2 record with a 2.93 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage. With his play dipping and his age climbing, the team has opted not to keep him on board for another season.

Dorion said that contract negotiations with Talbot were never close, telling reporters the team was only prepared to offer a one-year extension. Talbot had requested a two-year contract, which Dorion didn’t offer.

With Talbot out of the picture, the Senators will be looking to add a new goaltender to their roster to supplement a hopefully healthy Anton Forsberg and the promising Mads Sogaard. Dorion also said Ottawa will likely explore another goaltender trade in the offseason.

Ottawa’s team save percentage of .895 last season was 20th in the league in 2022-23, a number lessened by injuries at times to both Forsberg and Talbot. To make a playoff appearance next season, goaltending consistency will need to be an area of improvement.

Senators Notes: Talbot, Watson, Hamonic, Pinto

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Extension discussions between the Senators and goaltender Cam Talbot were put on hold when Talbot’s camp pushed for a substantial raise, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch.  The 35-year-old has underachieved this season, posting a .900 SV% in 35 games and since discussions were stopped back in December, Talbot has dealt with groin and rib injuries which certainly don’t help his market value.  Talbot’s in the final year of a deal that carries a $3.5MM AAV and with the way this season has gone, he’ll be hard-pressed to land a sizable increase on the open market this summer though another deal in that range is certainly possible.

More from Ottawa:

  • Winger Austin Watson’s season has come to an end, Garrioch notes (Twitter link). He took a shot off the foot on Thursday against Florida and the team will hold him out for the final three games.  His campaign concludes with nine goals, two assists, 123 penalty minutes, and 165 hits in 75 games.  Watson will be eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer.
  • Garrioch also relayed (Twitter link) that blueliner Travis Hamonic (lower body) won’t be able to return this season. The team had hoped that the 32-year-old would be able to be back for a game or two in the final week but with the Sens out of playoff contention now, there’s no need to try to rush him back.  His season ends with 21 points and 143 blocks in 75 games and he, too, will be an unrestricted free agent in July.
  • Center Shane Pinto revealed to Garrioch (Twitter link) that he has been invited to play for Team USA at next month’s World Championship. The 22-year-old has had a good first full NHL campaign, chipping in with 20 goals and 13 assists while averaging a little under 16 minutes per night.  Notably, Pinto’s contract expires this summer and players that aren’t signed for the following season typically don’t suit up in the event; Pinto only indicated that he’s thinking about the offer at this time.

Injury Notes: Dach, Petry, Senators

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The Montreal Canadiens announced center Kirby Dach will not play in tonight’s game. The Canadiens are taking on the Philadelphia Flyers, in a game that will see prospect Sean Farrell make his NHL debut and goaltender Cayden Primeau will make his first start of the season. However, the team that has dealt with a large number of injuries all season will have yet another impact player out of the lineup. Dach has been ruled out with an upper-body injury.

The 22-year-old center is having a breakout campaign, though he did miss about a month of action with a lower-body injury recently. In his first season with the Canadiens, Dach has scored 14 goals and 38 points in 58 games. He left last night’s game early after being hit from behind while trying to push the puck over the goal line in overtime. He was called off the ice by the concussion spotter at that time and did not return to the game.

  • Jeff Petry is ready to return to his team’s lineup, according to Michelle Crechiolo of Pens Inside Scoop. The veteran defenseman missed the team’s past five games with an upper-body injury. The 35 year old has scored five goals and 26 points in 52 games this season, his first in Pittsburgh. His return will help bolster a depleted blue line that is without Marcus Pettersson and Dmitry Kulikov. The Penguins need the support, as they are in the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference and need to hold off the Florida Panthers if they want to play in the postseason.
  • Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Sun reports some positive and negative injury news for the Ottawa Senators. Cam Talbot is ready to return to the lineup for the first time since March 4 when he injured his oblique. However, the team’s top defenseman Thomas Chabot’s status is questionable. He left the team’s most recent game after jamming his wrist and though he returned to the bench he was not able to return to the ice. The team won’t give an official update until tomorrow.

Snapshots: Talbot, Toews, Reilly, Lalonde

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The Senators should be getting some help between the pipes soon as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Cam Talbot is expected to return to the lineup sometime this week.  He has been out for the last three weeks due to an oblique muscle injury.  The 35-year-old has a 2.85 GAA and a .905 SV% in 32 games this season, numbers that aren’t the greatest but at the moment, Ottawa is trying to hang in the race for a Wild Card spot in the East with rookies Mads Sogaard and Dylan Ferguson.  Accordingly, getting Talbot back should give them a boost for the final few games.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews has been out for nearly two months due to symptoms from long COVID and Chronic Immune Response Syndrome but hasn’t given up on returning this season. To that end, head coach Luke Richardson told Mark Lazerus of The Athletic (Twitter link) that the center has been skating in an effort to get back before the end of the campaign.  There was a recent report that Toews may be considering retirement and if that’s true, that could be fueling his desire to get back for the final few games.
  • Bruins defenseman Mike Reilly suffered a serious injury in the minors today, one that saw him knocked unconscious and stretchered off the ice. Fortunately, AHL Providence announced after the game (Twitter link) that he is alert, conscious, and able to walk around.  The veteran has spent the bulk of the year in the minors but is likely to be a Black Ace recall at some point in Boston’s playoff run.
  • The Blue Jackets announced (Twitter link) that they’ve reassigned goaltender Nolan Lalonde from OHL Erie to AHL Cleveland. The 19-year-old signed with Columbus as an undrafted free agent in October but had a tough year in junior, posting a 4.09 GAA along with a .868 SV% in 41 games with the Otters.  With Jon Gillies being recalled today and Daniil Tarasov being injured in Cleveland’s game today, Lalonde could have a path to make his pro debut fairly soon.

Cam Talbot To Miss Several Weeks

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5:00 PM: TSN’s Darren Dreger has added some more detail to Talbot’s injury situation, reporting that the veteran netminder has suffered an oblique strain.

1:51 PM: Cam Talbot will leave the Ottawa Senators’ road trip early and return for treatment after being a late scratch on Monday. Head coach D.J. Smith told reporters, and explained (link via TSN radio) that the veteran goaltender will be out for three weeks with what he called a “mid-body injury.”

That means it’s up to the kids in Ottawa, as Kevin Mandolese and Mads Sogaard are the active tandem for the Senators. The pair, both 22, are up under emergency conditions while Talbot and Anton Forsberg are out of the lineup.

Mandolese has just two appearances in his NHL career, though both have gone well. The young netminder won his debut by stopping 46 of 48 shots against the New York Islanders a few weeks ago, and then allowed just three goals against the Boston Bruins in his follow-up appearance.

Sogaard has played seven times this season, taking his career total to nine NHL appearances. He has won four times for the Senators this year, but was blown out by the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday after being the last-second replacement for Talbot. That 5-0 loss to Chicago was a brutal blow to the team’s playoff chances, though they aren’t eliminated just yet.

Ottawa heads to Seattle next for a game tomorrow, before going through the Western Canada trip starting on Saturday night in Vancouver. There aren’t many easy nights coming for the upstart club, as once they return home they run off a series of games against Colorado, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Boston, Tampa Bay, and New Jersey that could decide their postseason fate.

Three weeks would mean Talbot isn’t available for any of those opponents.

Cam Talbot Scratched Late Due To Injury

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Tonight’s Chicago Blackhawks and Ottawa Senators matchup has had a couple of interesting developments just hours before game time. Mads Sogaard will now be get the start for the Senators as Ottawa netminder Cam Talbot has been scratched with what TSN 1200 is reporting as a minor lower body ailment. Talbot had a slow start in his first season with Ottawa but has been better as of late for the Senators, having won his last three starts.

Kevin Mandolese has been called up from Belleville (AHL) but will likely not make it down to Chicago in time for the game. Mandolese has been quite good for the Senators this season with a 1-1 record and a .928 save percentage. The 22-year-old netminder last dressed for Ottawa in a loss to the Boston Bruins on February 20th, a game in which he stopped 29 of 32 shots.

For this evening, Ottawa may have to dress an emergency backup goaltender (EBUG). In Chicago, that would be Scott Foster, who famously backstopped the Blackhawks to a 6-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets in 2018. Foster stopped all seven shots he faced in his one NHL appearance, and was named the game’s first star despite not being credited as the goalie of record.

Foster was signed by Chicago back in March 2018 to an amateur tryout contract because presumed started Anton Forsberg was sidelined at the time with an injury. Should he dress tonight for Ottawa, he would once again be working in as an emergency backup goaltender for a team that employs Forsberg.

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