The Minnesota Wild traded goaltender Cam Talbot to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for netminder Filip Gustavsson, both teams announced Tuesday.
Talbot, 35, has one year remaining on a deal that carries a cap hit of just under $3.7 million. Minnesota isn't retaining any of his salary in the trade, according to TSN's Chris Johnston.
Gustavsson is also signed for one more season at an average annual value of $787,500. He can become a restricted free agent once it expires, while Talbot can become an unrestricted free agent.
"Cam is experienced and provides us with greater goaltending stability heading into next season," Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said. "He was instrumental in helping Minnesota reach the playoffs in each of his two seasons with the Wild. The tandem of he and Anton Forsberg sets us up nicely for the upcoming year."
Talbot held a .911 save percentage and 2.76 goals against average in 49 appearances with the Wild in 2021-22 while boasting a record of 32-12-4. Veteran netminder Marc-Andre Fleury got the bulk of the starting duties in the playoffs after Minnesota acquired him at the trade deadline, but Talbot suited up for Game 6 against the St. Louis Blues and surrendered four goals on 26 shots in the series-ending loss.
Gustavsson went 5-12-1 with the struggling Senators this past season, authoring a .892 save percentage and 3.55 goals against average. The 24-year-old has played in just 27 games across two seasons in Ottawa.
Talbot's future in Minnesota was called into question once the Wild signed Fleury to a two-year extension last week. The former was reportedly unhappy with the move and his agent George Bazos said general manager Bill Guerin had "a lot to think about."
Guerin had a blazing retort to Bazos' comments.
"I don't have shit to do," Guerin said, according to The Athletic's Michael Russo. "Cam Talbot's under contract. George can say whatever the hell he wants. My team's set right now, and that's the way it goes. We can have all the discussions we want. Cam's a member of our team. We really like Cam. All we're trying to do is win."
Shortly after shipping Talbot off to Ottawa, Guerin said the Ontario native didn't demand a trade.
"Just thinking about it more and more, I didn't want to put our team in an awkward position," Guerin said, according to Star Tribune's Sarah McLellan. "I didn’t want to put Cam or (Fleury) in an awkward position to where it got in the way of our team being successful."
The Senators also switched things up in the crease after sending goaltender Matt Murray and two picks to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for future considerations Monday evening.