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The Ottawa Senators have acquired veteran goalie Cam Talbot from the Minnesota Wild for goalie Filip Gustavsson, per The Athletic’s Michael Russo. The Wild recently signed goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to a two-year deal. Minnesota could look to sign a backup goalie for depth in free agency, which begins Wednesday at noon ET. Gustavsson could also serve as backup next season.
Talbot has performed well the past two seasons for the Wild. He’s 51-20-9 with a 2.71 GAA and .913 SV% over 82 games for Minnesota. Talbot only played one game in the playoffs for the Wild, who were eliminated by the St. Louis Blues in six games. Fleury started five games vs. the Blues, allowing 15 goals with a .906 SV%. The three-time Stanley Cup champion will turn 38 during the 2022-23 season.
As for Ottawa, the Sens now have Talbot on an expiring contract for next season to bridge the gap to another starting goaltender. Anton Forsberg and Talbot figure to split time right now. Forsberg played well last season for Ottawa, so he should get the bulk of the starts. He was 22-17-4 with a 2.82 GAA and .917 SV% in 46 games. Considering the Sens had 73 points and finished toward the bottom of the League standings, that isn’t a bad stat line for Forsberg.
The Senators recently traded goalie Matt Murray to the Toronto Maple Leafs. That cleared the spot for Talbot.