Red Wings Review: Needed More From Talbot

The post Red Wings Review: Needed More From Talbot appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.

Cam Talbot

Age: 38, turns 39 July 5.

Contract Status: He becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1

Last season’s contributions: His 3.19 GAA and .883 save percentage were below average for an NHL backup goalie.

Grade: C-

Past

Talbot’s level of play declined from the 2024-25 (21-19-5, 2.91, .901) to 2025-26 (12-9-6). It became more and more evident, especially after John Gibson began to perform like a premium NHL goalie.

From Jan. 1 until season’s end, Talbot made 14 appearances. He only won one of those games. The veteran netminder gave up four or more goals in seven of those games. His best efforts seemed to come when he entered a game after Gibson was injured. Those injuries happened more than Gibson and the Red Wings would have liked.

In fairness to Talbot, it was foreign to him to start as infrequently as he did with the Red Wings this season. It’s difficult for a goalie to find his rhythm.

“I don’t know if I’ve gone into the game this many times without like a start in between,” Talbot said in April. “It’s definitely been a challenge. There’s not a lot of practice time (late in the) year and when we do practice, all the five-on-five stuff is typically at the other end. So not a lot of game situations for myself. But just try to stay ready best I can in practice, be prepared off the ice and just be mentally ready to go in there anytime I get an opportunity.

Present

The most pointed criticism of Talbot is that his performance level off from the previous year, and he didn’t supply his team with winning efforts in games they needed to win in the second half of the season.

Coaches expect veteran backup goalies to give their team a chance to win in their infrequent starts. The Red Wings were a team that struggled to score five-on-five. They needed their backup goalies to win them some games, especially down the stretch. He couldn’t deliver. Could it have made a difference? Probably not because he wasn’t starting often,

You can’t blame coach Todd McLellan. Gibson was hot, and McLellan seemed to have lost a few mph off his fastball.

Talbot won five of his first six games this season and nine of his first 11 and then he didn’t seem have the same level of confidence. He made 23 start on the season and surrendered four or more goals 13 times. McLellan knows Talbot well. He had to know Talbot wasn’t as sharp.

The Red Wings needed their backup goalie to be a highly effective. He was not.

Future

The Red Wings signed Talbot to a two-year contract in 2024 believing they would have a young goalie ready to move onto the Detroit roster when contract when his contract ended. That’s still the plan, with the Red Wings thinking Sebastian Cossa or Michal Postava will be in Detroit next season and Trey Augustine will be in Grand Rapids.

Talbot probably will see if there is any interest in him this summer, but retirement seems like a strong possibility

Current contract: If Talbot has options, he could be looking at a deal for $1 million, or maybe slightly above that, as a backup

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