Cam Talbot: Two Jersey Cards

One of the most bizarre situations in the NHL free agent market this summer was the Calgary Flames/Edmonton Oilers goalie switcheroo, where Cam Talbot, disgraced Oilers starter, signed with the Flames, while Mike Smith, the on-the-outs starter for his second straight team, made the reverse choice.

Yet the Flames still technically have a question mark in nets, with sophomore David Rittich acting as the incumbent #1 and Talbot a sort of wild card, having finished fourth in Vezina voting (he should have finished second to winner Sergei Bobrovsky - and Devan Dubnyk third - ahead of official finalists Braden Holtby and Carey Price) in 2016-17 but been on a downhill slope since then due to a mix of being overplayed and playing behind a sub-par defense in a system that either did not take defense into consideration or that players were not following at all.

Which Talbot are the Flames getting, at this point? It's extremely hard to tell, but they're hoping he'll be good-but-not-great so they can keep building Rittich into their next go-to guy, but not average enough that they need to play the young one more than 55 games.

Talbot aims to play well enough to earn a starting job anywhere in the NHL, which would also come with the additional perk of doubling the $2.75M cap hit he'll take in 2019-20, on a one-year show-me deal. I was honestly surprised anyone gave him a deal with the same salary as safe bet Jaroslav Halak is getting with the Stanley Cup finalist Boston Bruins, especially since the Flames are a team whose players pay no provincial taxes and get to keep more of their paycheck.

Here are two cards of Talbot's wearing the Oilers' beautiful white (now-away) uniform, on card #GJ-CT from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Series 1 set and UD Game Jersey sub-set, with blue game-worn jersey swatches:

Regular readers who feel they've seen this card before are right, as I featured a third identical card last February. I am obviously open to trading at least two of these.

Cam Talbot Jersey Card

Changes are underway for the Edmonton Oilers!

In a one-for-one goalie trade, the team sent former #1 goalie Cam Talbot to the Philadelphia Flyers for promising 25-year-old Anthony Stolarz.

For the Oilers, the move frees up cap space right now to bring the injured Andrej Sekera back in the lineup under the salary cap, and adds a younger goalie with the same upside as Talbot but not already bummed out by the way the team has under-performed for two years. Stolarz will also be a restricted free agent this off-season (provided he plays in 10 games before the end of the season), so the team technically still has control over him.

The Flyers, on the other hand, already own the rights to two promising young goalies in Felix Sandström and Kirill Ustimenko, notwithstanding their current #1 Carter Hart, who is barely 20 years old. Talbot becomes an option to back him up next year along with Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth - but Talbot has an edge, as he's been training with Hart in the summer for a few years and has already been mentoring him from a distance; Hart called Talbot up for tips the night before his first NHL game a few weeks ago.

Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher has also had success in the past with Oilers reclamation projects, as he's the one who brought Devan Dubnyk to the Minnesota Wild. Ironically, with Fletcher gone, Dubnyk's on a much tighter leash than the rest of the elite at his position (for example, Sergei Bobrovsky and Carey Price), and there is talk that the man who was at the NHL All-Star Game just two weeks ago may no longer be the one to lead the team to the postseason.

But back to Talbot who, just two years ago, was on top of the NHL world, lead the league in games played (73) and wins (42), was third in shutouts (7), and also boasted an incredible 2.39 goals-against average and .919 save percentage. He was second to just Bobrovsky in the "best goalie" talks. Just like Dubnyk, he just needs a reset to get back on track.

The only question is whether he'll get that reset in Philadelphia or elsewhere.

Here he is sporting the Oilers' beautiful white (now-away) uniform, on card #GJ-CT from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Series 1 set and UD Game Jersey sub-set:

It features a blue game-worn jersey swatch.

Cam Talbot: Two Autographed Cards

Another great return from the Edmonton Oilers yesterday (December 26th, 2015), as goaltender Cameron Talbot sent back these two cards that I'd sent out on November 4th, 2015, so a 52-day return for two cards, signed in black sharpie:

Talbot didn't start the season out so well, and there was chatter that he'd lost the #1 job to Anders Nilsson - but he has bounced back of late, with a 2-1-2 streak in his last five games where he twice stopped more than 40 shots.

He's making the case that he deserves some time in front of the crease at least in tandem with Nilsson; unlike the former New York Islanders draft pick, though, Talbot is an unrestricted free agent at season's end, so he's not just playing for ice time, but possibly for his very future in the NHL.

At 28 years of age, he needs to show that his finishing 7th in Vezina voting last year filling in for an injured Henrik Lundqvist was not just a product of playing behind the New York Rangers' stingy defense but also of his own doing.

Over two seasons in Manhattan, he posted a 2.00 GAA and .931 save percentage with 8 shutouts in 57 games - 53 of them starts, 33 of them wins, for 17 regulation losses and just 5 more in overtime.

Since the 2015-16 season started, he's 5-9-2 with the Oilers (who've had a poor start, regardless of his play, and didn't help in any statistical department), with a .905 save percentage and 2.93 GAA in 17 games.

But things are improving. He's making huge saves in bulk, and his losses at least come with points, helping Edmonton stay in contention for a payoff spot. And all the while, he and his wife bring smiles to the tundra as they give their time to the community.

Here are the cards he signed, first wearing the Rangers' blue (home) uniform, on card #535 of Panini's 2011-12 Score set and Hot Rookies sub-set, sporting his rookie number (81):

Then, in a picture that seems identical from that from my post four years ago, card #232 from Upper Deck's 2011-12 Victory set and Rookie sub-set, here he is wearing the white (away) uniform:

So two rookie cards signed, because I didn't have one of his with the Oilers. I think he can be a good fit with them, and I'm glad it's going much better now.

Cam Talbot Autograph Card

Cam Talbot has spent the past 3 seasons changing leagues and jerseys more often than underwear. Undrafted, he went from the University of Alabama-Huntsville to the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack when the New York Rangers signed him as a free agent. He then split the 20110-11 season between the Wolf Pack - which became the Connecticut Whale midway through the season - and the ECHL's Greenville Road Warriors, earning a call-up with the Rangers but seeing no ice time.

He is currently #3 on the Rangers' depth chart in nets, after superstar Henrik Lundqvist and top backup Martin Biron. Some New York writers are having fun at his expense for always getting called up but never playing.

This beautiful foil card came in a pack of Panini's 2011-12 Certified (card #160) and is from the Freshman Signatures sub-set. It is signed on card in blue sharpie.