Senators general manager Pierre Dorion gave a statement about the deal in a team release: Cam is experienced and provides us with more stability in goal next season. He was instrumental in helping Minnesota reach the playoffs in each of his two seasons with the Wild. The tandem of him and Anton Forsberg sets us up nicely for next year. Trade is important economically to Minnesota. That’s a net cap reduction of $2.9 million, giving the Wild and general manager Bill Guerin some (small) flexibility heading into free agency tomorrow. It was clear that Talbot was not happy with Minnesota’s decision to keep Marc-Andre Fleury on a two-year deal, and he will now find another job as a clear-cut 1A goaltender (at worst) with the Senators. The Senators now have a more experienced and upgraded goaltending group taking them into next season as they aim to make some noise in the Eastern Conference, essentially trading the oft-injured Matt Murray for Talbot at the cost of Gustavsson, a third-round pick. , and a seventh-round pick. In 49 games with the Wild last year, the 35-year-old Talbot had a 32-12-4 record, three shutouts, a 2.76 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage. The deal isn’t without value for the Wild, either. Gustavsson is young and has decent upside, and while he doesn’t steal the “goaltender of the future” label claimed by Jesper Wallstedt, he fills the void in the organization left by Kaapo Kahkonen as a long-term combo or backup option. Originally a second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016, Gustavsson is now in his third NHL campaign of his own accord. He played in 27 games as a Senator over the last two years, posting a career record of 10-13-3 and a .905 save percentage. Those numbers are sure to improve with increased growth and a stronger defense in the State of Hockey. ESPN’s Kevin Weekes was the first to report that Talbot was headed to Ottawa.
