Hopefully the Wild Signed Cam Talbot to Play Goalie; Not to Fight Other Goalies

General Manager Bill Guerin (Blockbuster Billy) and the Minnesota Wild have found their new goalie. Cam Talbot is signing a 3-year, $11 million contract ($3.67M cap hit per year). Michael Russo broke the details of the deal on Twitter.

Cam Talbot, 3 years, $11 million to #mnwild

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) October 9, 2020

Talbot History

How good is Talbot at the ripe age of 33? Well, he was pretty good last season (2.63 GAA, .919 Save %) with the Calgary Flames and he’s been Vezina Trophy candidate good during his career, finishing 4th in voting for 2016-17.

It was his one season in Edmonton that have made some people doubt the ability of Cam Talbot. In that dreadful 2018-2019 season, Talbot posted a 3.69 GAA and just a .893 save %. Gross.

The Wild are hoping to see the better side of Cam Talbot for the next three seasons. Here are some advanced graphs that show what to expect.

Cam Talbot (3×3.67m with Minnesota) has been a little better than average this past season after a really rough season the year before. pic.twitter.com/uI3xxQNhfZ

— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) October 9, 2020

Cam Talbot, signed by MIN, bounced back quite a bit this year after a really difficult final season in Edmonton. #mnwild pic.twitter.com/mf7lvxE3Kz

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) October 9, 2020

Good Enough to Have a LOT of Interest

Up until today, nobody knew if Talbot would even be available. He and the Flames were trying to come to a new agreement, even as late as last night. Just hours later, he’s a member of the Minnesota Wild.

That tells you how much the Wild wanted to get Talbot in between their pipes. This is a good signing because the Wild couldn’t afford an upper-echelon guy. They now have someone who should be much better than what they had last season, with Dubnyk and Stalock, but won’t cost top-dollar

Now that free agency has started, we’ll see if Blockbuster Billy Guerin has anymore tricks up his sleeve (without much money available).

Lastly, I really need Cam Talbot to start a goalie redemption fight this season. He needs to make up for what happened last year, when he met Oilers goalie, Mike Smith, at center ice. This is what an ass-kicking looks like.

Mike Smith vs. Cam Talbot goalie fight ?? pic.twitter.com/23VjsYxeiv

— Gino Hard (@Ginohard_) February 2, 2020

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan