Cam Talbot Could Be Vezina Worthy

Cam Talbot’s arrival to Edmonton back in 2015 arguably came with mixed emotions. The man was a red hot goalie on the rise and coming off a breakout campaign with the New York Rangers at the time.

However, the sample size of his success and results were honestly too small to automatically dub him the saviour in goal for the Edmonton Oilers. This made some fans panic, including myself which is understandable given the fact that Edmonton has gone through goalkeepers like dirty laundry over the years.

Talbot nearly made Oiler fans fears come true when he suffered miserably at the start of last season, which ultimately led to him briefly losing the starting job to training camp surprise, Anders Nilsson.

But the Nilsson train eventually came to an abrupt halt when he was lit up like the northern lights for a stretch of games. At that time, everything must have clicked in Talbot’s head and the cobwebs seemingly vanished. Ever since then, Talbot has been a consistent workhorse between the pipes for the Oilers.

Talbot’s 3 year deal signed in the middle of last season has solidified the goaltending position in Edmonton for the immediate foreseeable future. He is in the prime of his career right now and  is an above average starter. For how long it will last remains to be seen.

Regardless, I think now is the time for the Oilers to be figuring out who will be the goalie of the future between the pipes. They should start grooming a successor that can legitimately take over someday and not cross their fingers on somebody who has many question marks surrounding him. The Oilers need a bluechip goaltending prospect. I have my doubts with Laurent Brossoit, but something special could be there with newly acquired prospects Nick Ellis and Dylan Wells.

There is no rush with this decision, but it is definitely something to keep in the back of Peter Chiarelli’s head as the organization moves forward towards a bright future.

Talbot’s calm, steady, consistent play is a huge reason why the Oilers are in a playoff position. In my opinion, and i’m sure there are many others out there that feel the same, Talbot is having an allstar season for himself. So….

Is Talbot a Vezina Trophy candidate? 

This season Talbot has started in 48 games and accumulated 2868 minutes of playing time. He ranks at the top of the league as one of the most used goalies. He has  a 0.920 save percentage and 4 shutouts.

I think Talbot was snubbed by not being invited to the Allstar game this year. He should have been there over others like San Jose’s Martin Jones and Arizona’s Mike Smith. Being one of the most heavily played goalies in the NHL this year, while at the same time maintaining a save percentage well over 0.915 leading up to the Allstar break, Talbot should have went to LA.

Talbot gives his team a chance to win virtually every game. Rarely do we seen him colossally collapse and have a horrendous performance. If he does have an off game, you can be sure that he will indeed bounce back the game after, which proves how consistent he is.

He is a true professional who is deeply dedicated to the honing and perfection of his craft between the pipes. It truly makes an immense difference when a team has a capable goalie in net. Many games have been stolen by Talbot alone this season.

In turn, Talbot’s teammates can feel a sense of relief and comfort knowing for sure that he can stop most of what comes his way, which relieves pressure on the defence. It is a perfect situation for a team when you have the defence and goaltender sharing equal amounts of the pressure.

The miraculous saves he’s made all year and his level of composure on a game by game basis is amazing and cannot be overlooked by the NHL. His heavy workload and impressive stats to boot is very respectable. If Talbot can continue to maintain a 0.920 save percentage from now until the end of the season, there is no doubt in my mind that he should absolutely be at least considered for nomination for the Vezina Trophy.