As the Edmonton Oilers approach the final leg of their resurgent 2016-17 campaign, netminder Cam Talbot continues to cement his place among the best to ever suit up in the team's crease.
The 29-year-old's second season as a full-fledged starter has gone exceptionally well, as Talbot is the only Oiler who could make a case for having played a bigger role in the Oilers' ascent than young captain Connor McDavid.
With just 120 games in Edmonton colors under his belt, Talbot is already tied for the third-most shutouts in Oilers goaltending history, his nine clean sheets tying him with Grant Fuhr in this regard.
The former New York Rangers backup's 36 wins this season are also tied for the second-most ever posted by an Oilers goaltender in one campaign, with Tommy Salo the last to reach that mark, back in 2000-01.
Talbot's ranking among this season's crop of netminders is no less impressive. He sits second in wins, tied for sixth in save percentage (.921), ninth in goals-against average (2.35), and is tied for the third-most shutouts in the league with six this season.
That top-10 positioning easily confirms Talbot as the No.1 option Edmonton was long searching for. But it also bolsters his case as one of the best bargains in the game, at any position.
Talbot's performance may have launched him into the upper echelon of professional goaltenders, but his paycheque has yet to catch up. He carries a cap hit of just $4.17 million per season, with 22 other NHL netminders earning more than him annually.
Looking at the rest of the field, it's clear Edmonton is getting plenty of bang for its buck in net - a crucially important point, as the club is going to have to spend heartily over the next two summers with McDavid and Leon Draisaitl set to outlast their entry-level contracts.
Talbot's former partner in net, Henrik Lundqvist, leads the pack in terms of goaltender pay, doubling his former backup with an $8.5-million cap hit. Three other 'tenders hold annual cap hits over $7 million, while five top the $6-million mark and nine sit above $5 million.
And yet, only a handful from that group have better numbers than Talbot heading into the home stretch of 2016-17.
Edmonton has two more years of Talbot punching in at only $4.17 million per season, and considering his performance thus far and his current trajectory, it's fair to assume that bargain-bin value will only continue to climb.
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