Cam Talbot will miss five to seven weeks with an upper-body injury, as the Ottawa Senators are forced to reshuffle their goaltending before the NHL regular season begins.
Talbot, 35, was acquired by the Senators in July from the Minnesota Wild for goalie Filip Gustavsson. Talbot is entering his 10th NHL season, having played 396 games with five teams.
Coach D.J. Smith told reporters Friday that Talbot was “day-to-day” after taking a puck under his equipment in practice. The team announced Monday that the injury will keep him sidelined through the first month of the season.
The Senators have claimed former Seattle Kraken goalie Magnus Hellberg on waivers to join Anton Forsberg, their starter last season, as their tandem to start the campaign.
Since 2013-14, Hellberg, 31, has appeared in four career NHL games with the Nashville Predators, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings. He spent the past five years playing primarily in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League.
Talbot’s absence is a rough start to a hopeful season in Ottawa. The Senators made waves in the NHL offseason by trading for Chicago Blackhawks star Alex DeBrincat and signing former Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux, bringing them onto a roster of promising young players.