Connect with us

Detroit Red Wings

Talbot Can Make Red Wings Better Right Now And In Future

Veteran goalie could be Cossa’s mentor

Published

on

Cam Talbot Red Wings
Cam Talbot may be of benefit to the Red Wings as a puckstopper and a mentor.

Certainly, Cam Talbot could be of great help to the Detroit Red Wings next season. He’s coming off an all-star campaign with the Los Angeles Kings. Talbot’s numbers suggest he’ll be more consistent and reliable between the pipes than any of the netminders the team used last season.



Secondly, there’s the second year on Talbot’s two-year contract that the UFA signed with Detroit. His role in 2025-26 could very well be to introduce 2021 first-round draftee Sebastian Cossa to the show and educate him on the rigors of NHL puckstopping.

Last season with the Kings, Talbot saw action in 54 games, going 27-20-6 and earning the nod as a Pacific Division selection for the NHL All-Star Game. His save percentage was .913 and GAA 2.50. By contrast, the Red Wings were posting a team save percentage of .897 and a GAA of 3.33.

“I think he’ll be an important part,” Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman said of his expectations for Talbot. “I can’t tell you how many starts they’re all going to get but he had a very good year in Los Angeles.

“Two years ago in Ottawa he had some injuries but his numbers are really consistent.”

Talbot Ready To Compete For Red Wings Net

The 36-year-old netminder’s career GAA is 2.63, along with a .914 save percentage. Last season marked the fourth time in his career that Talbot would play in 50+ games.

“Really solid, big guy, competitive guy who’s had a relatively strong career,” Yzerman said of the 6-foot-4, 200-pound puckstopper. “I expect his save percentage to help and reduce the number of goals against. Collectively as a team our play has to pick up on that side.

“If we can creep our overall goaltending save percentage up a little bit that should contribute to fewer goals against.”

Red Wings Four Deep In NHL Goalies

Detroit was adding two veteran NHL goalies this summer. The Red Wings were also signing Jack Campbell. He and Talbot join Alex Lyon and Ville Husso on the roster. That’s giving Detroit four goalies with 80+ games of NHL experience.

With 486 NHL games on his resume, Talbot isn’t afraid to face such a challenge. In fact, he embraces the opportunity to compete for the net.

“I’m sure there will be a good healthy competition come training camp,” Talbot said. “That internal competition always makes everybody better. I think that bringing in the guys that they brought in just drives everybody that much more.

“That’s a good thing for everybody.”

Make no mistake, Talbot’s mission in Hockeytown is to be the go-to goalie for the Red Wings.

“Absolutely,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons why I chose to sign here. There’s gonna be the competition no matter what between three three or four of us. I feel healthy and good even at my age.

“I played 54 games last year, made an All-Star appearance. And I still feel like I’ve got a lot to give. That’s one of the biggest reasons why I wanted a two-year deal to come in and try to help a team win and still come in and compete for starts. That’s a big factor for me coming in.”

Veteran Goalie Accepting Of Mentor Role

At the same time, Talbot is understanding that the sands of time on his days as an effective NHL goalie are dwindling. Netminders excelling well into their late 30s are the exception and not the rule.

The Red Wings are embracing the notion that Cossa, 21, chosen 15th overall in the 2021 NHL entry draft, as their goalie of the future. That future, in terms of arrival, figures to be the 2025-26 campaign, which would be the second year of term on Talbot’s pact with Detroit.

If he’s to be Cossa’s mentor, it’s a role that Talbot would be willingly embracing.

“I really enjoy it,” Talbot said of working with young goalies. “I think that’s a huge part of the game now. Obviously when I was coming into the league I had Henrik Lundqvist and Marty Biron on the team in New York when I was there coming to training camps (with the Rangers), so I saw first hand what it took and what it was like to be an NHLer every single day.

“You take that and mold it into your game when you’re in the minors. And when you make it, that’s when the work really starts. You realize that watching a future Hall of Famer like I was able to do (with Lundqvist). You take it all in and you just try to be like a sponge and just absorb things that you see him doing and mold it into your game, or mold it into your off-ice routines and stuff like that.

“For me to get to this point in my career and hopefully be able to help young guys like I was helped, it’ll be nice to give that experience back.”