Few hockey players make it in the NHL. Even fewer do it for more than a few years at most. The average NHL career lasts anywhere from five to seven seasons long. A very, very select few NHLers continue to play late into their 30s.
Detroit Red Wings backup goaltender Cam Talbot can count himself among a very exclusive club.
The long-time goalie has spent the last 14 seasons between the New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators, Los Angeles Kings and now the Detroit Red Wings. One in four NHL franchises have enlisted the services of Talbot throughout his career. If that isn't impressive enough, his career .911 save percentage across 567 games is nothing to balk at.
Talbot has spent his last two seasons in Detroit. If NHL insider Kevin Allen's report is any indication, the 2025-26 season will be his last with the Red Wings.
But is it Talbot's last in his NHL career?
How Talbot performed in 2025-26
As far as 38-year-old backup goaltenders go, Talbot did perfectly fine in the role he was given. He rounded out the season with a 12-9-6 record and a .883 save percentage. These numbers aren't particularly impressive, but it's important to note that Talbot was thrown into a near full-time starter's role very early on in the season when starter John Gibson struggled.
From there, Talbot slotted in as a perfectly acceptable backup goaltender. Some nights, Talbot turned on the jets and stole games like the March 28 bout against the Philadelphia Flyers. But, as the season came to a close, the wheels fell off the wagon for both the Red Wings and Talbot. In his final two starts, Talbot posted .818 and .692 save percentages -- brutal numbers by any sense of the word.
That said, expecting a 38-year-old backup to suddenly start posting starting numbers is a tall order. It's unreasonable to expect a goalie so late in his career to find his second wind. If the season hinges upon the backup's performance, the season's already lost.
Still, there's absolutely an opportunity to upgrade at this position.
Red Wings have bevy of backup candidates next season
With Talbot approaching free agency, the Red Wings have three options they can choose at backup. They can go with first rounder Sebastian Cossa, who thrilled throughout the Grand Rapids Griffins' season. Another goalie, Michal Postava, stole the spotlight from Cossa late in the season and could warrant some NHL consideration.
The third (and likely most unpopular) option is the free agency market. Everyone from Jordan Binnington to Stuart Skinner has been bizarrely linked to Detroit, though many of these links are tenuous at best. It's highly unlikely that the Red Wings pursue the free agency market -- but, if they do, they've got several options at their disposal.
The Red Wings have a lot of problems they need to solve before next season, but, as far as problems go, this is the best one to have.
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