Cam Talbot, Oilers Agree to New Contract: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

The Edmonton Oilers acquired Cam Talbot last summer with the idea of keeping him in their net long term. They completed that goal on Sunday, announcing a three-year extension for their starting goaltender.

Darren Dreger of TSN reported that the deal is worth $12.5 million overall.

Talbot, 28, is in his first season with Edmonton. Acquired from New York via trade after a spirited two-season run as Henrik Luquvist's backup, Talbot is off to an up-and-down start. He's posted a 8-13-3 record with a 2.58 goals against average, which ranks him 29th among qualifying netminders. Those struggles ultimately cost him the full-time starting gig, as Anders Nilsson has received 22 starts so far this season.

"Sometimes it's almost like you try harder and you are almost just putting yourself in worse positions," Talbot said in December, per Kevin Woodley of NHL.com. "Every time things start going not your way you want to try to do more to force it, but that's not the way it works in goaltending. You can't just try harder."

It's worth noting that things have gone better for Talbot over the last two months. After making saves on just 88.9 percent of shots faced through the first two months, Talbot has improved to a 93.7 percent rate in December and January. Those numbers are right on par with what he was doing with the Rangers and would put him among the NHL's best over the course of the season.

Edmonton is obviously banking on Talbot's performance being closer to the last two months than his first two. Paul Almeida of TSN1260 highlighted the risk of the deal:

As it stands, the deal could be a major value if Talbot continues his recent trend of solid play. Sitting at an average annual value of $4.17 million, Talbot's cap hit would rank 24th among goaltenders this season, per Spotrac. Even if he winds up being a league average goaltender, he'll still be being underpaid. It's a solid gamble that could turn into a major boon for Edmonton if Talbot proves he can handle the full-time workload.

However, if his struggles of October and November come back, the Oilers will be locked into a player who may be better off on the bench.