Sometimes, when you think you have it all figured out, a curveball comes your way. That's exactly what happened to the Blue Jackets and their goaltending situation, with Elvis Merzlikins having late-offseason shoulder surgery. So, the team has brought in veteran backup Cam Talbot to help stem the tide.
There isn't much up for debate here. At 39 years old, Talbot is one of the longest serving backup goaltenders in the NHL. That is the role he has been brought aboard to play in Columbus. He's not coming to camp hoping to win the starting job. He will serve as the backup to Jet Greaves this season.
However, more important than his actual on-ice play, might be his off-ice presence. As a veteran of 567 career NHL games, Talbot brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that could be extremely valuable to a young goaltender such as Greaves. Think of him as an extra coach, who can step in and play some games as well.
Like Greaves, Talbot was an undrafted goaltender who had to take the long, difficult road to the NHL. He was 26 years old when he finally made his debut with the New York Rangers, in October of 2013. Since then, he's bounced around the league quite a bit-the Blue Jackets will be his 9th NHL team.
At every stop, he's established himself as a likeable teammate. The kind of guy who just comes to work every day and puts forth his best effort, always looking to improve his craft. Doesn't that also sound a little bit like Greaves?
Oh, one more thing to note before we get onto the on-ice stuff: he served as Jet's backup for Team Canada at this year's World Championships. The two already have a good rapport, which Greaves talked about in his media availability today. Conversation starts around the 59:00 mark:
They will need Cam to stem the tide when called upon.
The life of a backup goaltender is never easy. In fact, I believe it to be one of the toughest jobs in all of sports. Cam Talbot will get the second half of back-to-back starts. He will get those 3-games in 4-nights starts when the team is tired. And, he's going to get thrown to the wolves from time to time, in order to preserve Greaves.
There is a lot of value in finding a guy with this experience, to come in and do this job. Assuming Elvis Merzlikins is out longer-term (which seems to be the case), the Blue Jackets are going to need Talbot to come in and play well 25 or more times this season.
He doesn't need to hold a .950% save percentage or get 10 shutouts to be successful. He just needs to make one more save than the guys at the other end from time to time. If he can win 50% of those starts, he is going to be in great shape.
All the while, he'll be serving as a mentor to the much younger Greaves, who will be a full-time starting goaltender for the first time in his NHL career. Not bad for a guy whose contract will pay him a maximum of $1.65 million dollars this year-and that's only if he hits every performance bonus. Lets hope he does.
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