Senators won't re-sign Talbot

Cam Talbot's tenure with the Ottawa Senators is all but over.

Senators general manager Pierre Dorion confirmed as much Monday, saying the goaltender won't be back with the club, according to Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch.

The GM said he offered Talbot a one-year deal, but the netminder was seeking a two-year pact. Talbot is a pending unrestricted free agent who just concluded the final season of the three-year deal he signed with the Minnesota Wild in October 2020.

The 35-year-old went 17-14-2 with a .898 save percentage over 36 games with Ottawa this season. He missed several stretches of the campaign due to injuries, forcing Anton Forsberg and later youngsters Mads Sogaard and Kevin Mandolese into the Sens' crease on a more regular basis.

The Wild traded Talbot to the Senators last July for 24-year-old puck-stopper Filip Gustavsson, who subsequently excelled as Minnesota's starter with a .931 save percentage and a record of 22-9-7 in 2022-23.

Dorion acquired Talbot five days after landing high-scoring forward Alex DeBrincat in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks. Shortly thereafter, the Senators convinced aging but skilled center Claude Giroux to sign a three-year agreement as a free agent.

Ottawa's offseason was playfully dubbed "The Summer of Pierre" for the GM's efforts, but the Sens ultimately missed the playoffs by six points.

Talbot has played 10 NHL seasons with six different teams. He finished fourth in Vezina Trophy voting in 2016-17 while playing with the Edmonton Oilers.