- Cam Talbot has been a free agent since July 1 and still has no contract
- Pro Hockey Rumors put Winnipeg on his short list if Connor Hellebuyck gets moved
- Read below for the Columbus opening and the James Reimer path Talbot could take
Cam Talbot’s next NHL job might come down to what Winnipeg does with Connor Hellebuyck.
Brennan McClain of Pro Hockey Rumors ran through the 39-year-old goaltender’s remaining options Saturday night and landed on two clubs. One of them is the Jets, who are sitting on a trade request from the best goalie in the sport.
Winnipeg signed Stuart Skinner to a two-year deal on July 1 to work behind Hellebuyck. Trade Hellebuyck and Skinner becomes the starter, which leaves a very obvious hole on the depth chart.
Hellebuyck went public through agent Ray Petkau on Aug. 27, putting a statement behind a request he had made privately months earlier.
He also is not boxing the Jets in the way some players do. Hellebuyck will waive his no-movement clause for a wide range of teams, and the holdup sits on Winnipeg’s side of the table.
Nobody has handed the Jets an offer they like yet, and we already ran through the eight teams that actually fit a Hellebuyck deal.
Talbot is coming off the roughest year of his 13-season career. He went 12-9-6 in 34 games for Detroit with an .883 save percentage and a 3.19 goals-against average after John Gibson took the crease from him.
The rest of the resume still reads fine. Talbot owns 278 wins in 567 games with a .911 save percentage and a 2.69 GAA, plus two All-Star nods since 2021-22.
Columbus is the other door McClain cracked open. Elvis Merzlikins had shoulder surgery on Aug. 17 with no timetable attached, leaving Jet Greaves and Pheonix Copley as the tandem.
That same injury is why Connor Ingram keeps getting linked to Columbus, so Talbot has company in line.
If neither job opens, there is a template from last winter. Carter Hutton was asked on Daily Faceoff LIVE in July whether Talbot and Ingram would find work, and he reached for a goalie who waited the market out.
“I put him in that like James Reimer-esque situation we saw from last year. Talbot is still very capable of helping you win hockey games and being a stopgap if a guy gets hurt.”
Reimer sat unsigned into January before Ottawa called. Camps open in a few weeks, and Talbot’s phone likely rings only once somebody else’s goalie situation cracks.
