[Signing] Official: Flames sign Cam Talbot (1 yr, $2.75mil)

[Hells Bells]

Originally Posted by Flames Fan, Ph.D.

Gotta give Treliving credit for being a smooth talker. On the Fan interview with Steinberg, he slyly phrases it as the Flames having signed Talbot *because* Smith left and moved up to Edmonton.

Well played sir.

I don't see that as well played at all.

I wouldn't want Talbot thinking he was a fallback plan for Smith.

I'd rather make him feel like the Flames were moving on from Smith and targeted him as their guy.

[transplant99]

Wes Gilbertson
@WesGilbertson
·
8h

Asked G Cam Talbot about #Flames forwards. Mentioned a few, and then ...
“And then Matthew (Tkachuk), standing in front of the net, just disturbing everybody. I hated playing against him as a goaltender so it will be nice to have him on my side now.”

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by Hells Bells

I don't see that as well played at all.

I wouldn't want Talbot thinking he was a fallback plan for Smith.

I'd rather make him feel like the Flames were moving on from Smith and targeted him as their guy.

I’m sure Talbot and Treliving have more conversation than through the media.

Says the right things to the public out of respect to the previous player, and I’m sure he’s saying all the right things to the new player privately.

He’s a respectable GM, I like the way he carries himself.

[Geeoff]

this is one of those signings where I won't know what to think about it until November

[Split98]

Given what this team accomplished in the regular season with Smith, I'm pretty excited about what this tandem could do. I'm sure we don't forget how awful he was on the easiest of chances - and if Talbot shows the same propensity to make the game far more difficult, we'll be back at this next year.

But I developed a ton of confidence in Rittich last year. As much as the Flames offence and stifling defence played a huge role last year, Rittich was a big reason the Flames had a chance last year. Without his stability in net the entire year would have unraveled at Smith's feet. Giving him the net this year is well-earned, and I'm glad the Flames are going with it. There were few games I'd have laid at Rittich's feet, so I don't know how much more someone like Lehner could bring to this team.

Talbot, however, has all potential to steal some games himself. His downfall was predicted and understandable. I don't put much weight on his year last year, as I think he didn't have much left in the tank before the season began. It has to be tough to carry a team one year, know you carried the team... and watch that team roll out the same garbage next year expecting you and Connor to do it again. All the while talking about how great this team is, while you get lit up nightly. He was relied on to make gigantic saves night in and night out. He pulled it off for a year, but a repeat was too much. As a 1B here, the potential for Talbot to go on a run himself is pretty exciting.


We hopefully will be in a situation this year where we're talking often about "when goalie X gets an opportunity to win the net back", and considering the talk of relationships so early here - this could be a fun year of back-and-forth between these goalie teammates.

[Flamette]

Didn’t see this posted anywhere:
https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/...-prove-flames/

Some interesting quotes:

"Even the season before last, I don’t think I was as bad as most people thought. One of our top defencemen went down [Andrej Sekera], which is never easy, but I still had 31 wins. Last season was mentally and physically exhausting. It kind of turned quickly and for some reason, I couldn’t stop it.

"To be honest I have a lot to prove. Last year was my worst as a pro and it’s something I don’t take lightly. It will be a redemption year for myself."
————
"My understanding is we’re going to be a tandem," said Talbot, owner of a career .915 save percentage, confirming the general assignment he’ll be expected to shoulder.
————
After several years under the tutelage of Oilers goalie coach Dustin Schwartz, Talbot is returning to Ontario to spend the next six weeks with Pat DiPronio.

"He’s my old goalie coach from when I was 10 years old in Stoney Creek," said Talbot, who last worked with DiPronio before his breakout 2016-17 season.

"He always seems to know how to get the best out of me.

“I think it’s just resetting — more of a mental thing, going back to my roots and what got me here. I’ll be coming into camp more prepared than I ever have."

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

Yeah, I don’t mind Wills for his play-by-play but some of his takes are just awful.

I think Wills' godawful takes are a big part of my dislike for him.

Peter Maher was a hockey oracle. Even when he was selling the company line, he did it with wisdom and class. Even when I disagreed with his conclusions, I respected his reasoning and understood why he felt the way he felt.

Wills often feels like he has a particular perspective because he's a) boys with the player b) wishes he was c) hates Pinder.


I know it must be an impossible task, but it's been four years now. I would hire Peter Maher back tomorrow and not think twice, and I know I'm not alone.

[GioforPM]

I like how Talbot has hit the reset button. I think he's going to be fine.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

I think Wills' godawful takes are a big part of my dislike for him.

Peter Maher was a hockey oracle. Even when he was selling the company line, he did it with wisdom and class. Even when I disagreed with his conclusions, I respected his reasoning and understood why he felt the way he felt.

Wills often feels like he has a particular perspective because he's a) boys with the player b) wishes he was c) hates Pinder.


I know it must be an impossible task, but it's been four years now. I would hire Peter Maher back tomorrow and not think twice, and I know I'm not alone.

Not that I disagree completely but you also described Loubardias to a tee yet he seems to escape the same criticism as I can't find anything Wills has done remotely close to Loubardias meltdown regarding Russell. I personally think the dissenting opinions thing is something manufactured to an extent by Kelly Kirch as he seems to think that's an element of good talk radio and he may be right.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Not that I disagree completely but you also described Loubardias to a tee yet he seems to escape the same criticism as I can't find anything Wills has done remotely close to Loubardias meltdown regarding Russell. I personally think the dissenting opinions thing is something manufactured to an extent by Kelly Kirch as he seems to think that's an element of good talk radio and he may be right.

Wait, you heard his pinder freak out right? Because I thought it was worse than Loubo and Russell.

Edit: .... I may be thinking of Will Nault.

[The Yen Man]

The thing I don't like about Wills is, it seems like he gets personally offended when people criticizes Smith's play. He's always the first to give a smug "I told you so" if there's even a hint of Smith rebounding, but once Smith reverts back to bad Smith, the excuses come out.

I get he's got a relationship with the team since he's there with them everyday, but try to be a bit more professional, and separate the player from the person. Criticism on on-ice play is totally fair game IMO, but apparently not to Wills.

[Rando]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

The thing I don't like about Wills is, it seems like he gets personally offended when people criticizes Smith's play. He's always the first to give a smug "I told you so" if there's even a hint of Smith rebounding, but once Smith reverts back to bad Smith, the excuses come out.

Not like Pinder had a monopoly on that however.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Not that I disagree completely but you also described Loubardias to a tee yet he seems to escape the same criticism as I can't find anything Wills has done remotely close to Loubardias meltdown regarding Russell. I personally think the dissenting opinions thing is something manufactured to an extent by Kelly Kirch as he seems to think that's an element of good talk radio and he may be right.

Loubo I have better regard for though, since it's obvious that he has done a ton of homework on players and knows the sport inside and out. Wills on the other hand was an AHL guy for another team, and all of the sudden when he's hired he a "Flames Insider".

I wasn't a Smith hater at all, and probably overdefended him at times here simply due to some of the over the top criticisms, but it was pretty apparent that Wills liked him a little too much. One can speculate it might be because Smith, as an older player, gave Wills more time than some of the kids.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Not that I disagree completely but you also described Loubardias to a tee yet he seems to escape the same criticism as I can't find anything Wills has done remotely close to Loubardias meltdown regarding Russell. I personally think the dissenting opinions thing is something manufactured to an extent by Kelly Kirch as he seems to think that's an element of good talk radio and he may be right.

Lou is a homer and you have to expect and accept that. But I feel he gives some thought to his views vs. parroting others or sounding like he knows little about the game.

[Split98]

Whether it's my team or a rival, I don't get why anyone wants to listen to "the homer" reporting. A couple die-hard fanboys with an opinion here and there are fine, but not where I want to see actual reporting, news and educated opinions.

Smith as a great example was terribly reported last year. Fans were over-the-top for sure, but the media isn't there to run PR for players. Smith was absolutely atrocious at many points in the season and we heard odd (looking at you Kelly) evaluations of what we could see directly in front of us.

[Shazam]

I figure Wills has been told by the Flames to never criticize the organization.

Doug Barkley heavily criticized the team one season and that was the end of him.

Maher I thought straddled the line quite well, but the last year he did PBP he was a titch more critical and he was done.

Wills got kids to feed, man.

[Erick Estrada]

While I don't think Flames ownership is nearly as heavy handed as the Oilers I feel they do have expectations that radio personalities paid to represent the team must choose their words carefully when it comes to criticism and at times be a cheerleader. Maher rarely if ever criticized players or the team but didn't go out of his way to polish the turd in the bad years. He straddled the line well but at the same time I found him pretty well useless on the radio outside of PBP as he had little to offer outside of stories.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Shazam

I figure Wills has been told by the Flames to never criticize the organization.

Doug Barkley heavily criticized the team one season and that was the end of him.

Maher I thought straddled the line quite well, but the last year he did PBP he was a titch more critical and he was done.

Wills got kids to feed, man.

Mike Rogers as well got turfed for being overly negative I believe. There's little doubt that if the people paid to cover the team actually provide the honest opinion fans want they will be joining the fans on the outside soon enough.

[CanadaMatt]

There’s only 31 of these jobs in the NHL and plenty of competition for these jobs.

If you’re looking to Wills for objectivity and ‘neutral’ opinion, you’re looking in the wrong place. It’s not his job, just like it’s not a real estate agents job to point out all the negative aspects of a property you’re looking at purchasing

Wills is a decent PBP guy, active in the community, and a nice chap in person...I think it’s unfair to criticize his homer-isms, as being an advocate for the Flames is part of what gets paid to do.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by CanadaMatt

There’s only 31 of these jobs in the NHL and plenty of competition for these jobs.

If you’re looking to Wills for objectivity and ‘neutral’ opinion, you’re looking in the wrong place. It’s not his job, just like it’s not a real estate agents job to point out all the negative aspects of a property you’re looking at purchase.

Wills is a decent PBP guy, active in the community, and a nice chap in person...I think it’s unfair to criticize his homer-isms, as being an advocate for the Flames is part of what gets paid to do.

For me it isn't about him being a homer - I just find his interpretations and observations of the game to be...odd.
For someone who watches as much hockey as he does - I find his grasp of the sport to be quite poor.