Fantasy Hockey: Finding a Replacement for Cam Talbot
Fantasy owners who invested a mid-round pick on Cam Talbot are now searching for an answer between the pipes.
On Monday, the Ottawa Senators announced that Talbot would be out for 5-to-7 weeks with an upper-body injury. With Goalies being arguably the thinnest positions off the waiver wire, let’s look at a few suitable replacements for Talbot.
Talbot is out 5-to-7 weeks.
5 weeks – 12 games
6 weeks – 15 games
7 weeks – 18 games
The Sens do not have a back-to-back until December, so no b2b in that 7-week timeline. It's unlikely he'll start every single game but Anton Forsberg (64% owned) should have a massive workload.
High-Owned Replacements:
Anton Forsberg (OTT – G) – 64% Owned
Forsberg benefits more than anyone with the injury to Talbot as he now becomes the Senators’ No.1 goaltender for the foreseeable future. Polishing off a strong 2021-22, the Swedish netminder ranked eighth in the NHL in save percentage (.917 SV%) on the way to more than doubling his career-high in wins (22) and finishing in the top 25 in GAA (2.82). The Senators have a much-improved roster heading into 2022-23 with the additions of Claude Giroux, Alex Debrincat, and super prospect Jake Sanderson on defence. With Ottawa miraculously having no back-to-backs during the first 18-game stretch in which Talbot is supposed to be out, Forsberg could realistically see 100 percent of the Senators start through the first seven weeks of the season. Before the injury to Talbot, he made a solid No.3 fantasy option in the net. Now the 29-year-old makes a must-own in all-sized leagues as he backstops an up-and-coming Senators team for the first month and a half.
Pavel Francouz (COL – G) – 59% Owned
Francouz enters 2022-23, having posted a tremendous .921 career SV% on the way to winning 63 percent of his appearances while backing up Colorado’s netminders over two of the past three seasons (2020-21 lost due to injury.) Francouz now finds himself in a timeshare with Alexandar Georgiev. Regardless, every start he gets will be worth plugging him into your lineup as he should provide very high win totals and steady goaltending stats across the board each night as he takes the crease for the reigning Stanley Cup Champions. If the 32-year-old veteran can secure more starts than Georgiev, he could easily find himself gaining more fantasy value than Talbot by the time Ottawa’s goaltender returns to your lineup. Francouz is one of the strongest Talbot replacements if he is still available in your leagues.
John Gibson (ANA – G) – 56% Owned
Gibson comes into 2022-23 as one of the few true workhouse goaltenders still left in the NHL. The netminder should see plenty of starts this season as his 260 GP ranks fifth in the NHL in the last five years. During the same span, he has achieved a serviceable .912 SV% on the way to securing the 10th most wins (104) throughout the league. The Ducks will likely find themselves out of the playoff picture, but you can bet Gibson will be doing everything he can nightly to ensure that does not happen again. He is one of few 50-plus game starters that can be found on the wire.
Matt Murray (TOR – G) – 54% Owned
Murray looks to take over the coveted Maple Leafs starting spot after Jack Campbell, and his 31 wins (11th in the NHL) left for Edmonton in the offseason. The 28-year-old will likely be in a timeshare with fellow newly acquired netminder Ilya Samsonov, but that should not be an issue when looking for a Talbot replacement. Due to the Leafs being a top-five NHL team, wins shouldn’t be hard to come by for the veteran. Murray has enjoyed success early with the Maple Leafs as he has stopped 44 of 45 shots through his first two preseason games. He is a solid pickup with top-15 upside if he can take over a majority of starts and return anywhere close to the .919 SV% that he posted in 2018-19.
Widely Available Replacements:
Philipp Grubauer (SEA – G) – 28% Owned
Grubauer went through a horrendous inaugural season in Seattle, finishing with a .889 SV% and 3.16 GAA. Use last seasons down year to your advantage as Grubauer has been a highly serviceable goaltender throughout his 10-year career, collecting a .914 career SV% and 2.51 GAA even with last year’s stats anchoring him down. With no real threat to steal starts behind him in Martin Jones, Grubauer could make a sneaky pick up if the Kraken’s offseason additions improve the overall team quality as expected. The Kraken were 11th-best in All Situations xGA/60 last season, so they were solid defensively; they just need Grubauer to be better.
James Reimer (SJS – G) – 22% Owned
Reimer enters his 12th NHL season as the Sharks’ No.1A option, a season after finishing with a very serviceable 19 wins and .911 SV%. With a career .913 SV%, the 34-year-old is going undrafted in many leagues, making him an option in deeper formats. The Sharks are below-average, but Reimer should return stable enough splits to help you weather the storm while Talbot’s out. The only issue with Reimer is the Sharks have four back-to-backs in the first five weeks of the season, so Kaapo Kahkonen is sure to get some playing time as well.