| Maxime Talbot | |
|---|---|
Talbot as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2007–08 season. |
|
| Born | February 11, 1984 LeMoyne, QC, CAN |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 191 lb (87 kg; 13 st 9 lb) |
| Position | Centre/Wing |
| Shoots | Left |
| NHL team Former teams |
Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Penguins |
| National team | Canada |
| NHL Draft | 234th overall, 2002 Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Playing career | 2005–present |
Maxime Talbot (born February 11, 1984) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who currently plays for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Drafted out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), Talbot led the Hull/Gatineau Olympiques to back-to-back President's Cups while earning the Guy Lafleur Trophy as playoff MVP both years. He won the Stanley Cup with his previous team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, in 2009.
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Talbot was selected by the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the first round of the 2000 QMJHL Draft. At the trading deadline that year, Talbot was dealt to the Hull Olympiques for current Washington Capitals minor league player Alexandre Giroux.[1] He completed his major junior rookie season with a combined 37 points between the two teams. Before the start of the 2002–03 season started, he was named team captain for the Olympiques and finished the year with a major junior career-high 46 goals and 104 points in 69 games, good for fifth in league scoring and QMJHL Second All-Star Team honors.[1] In the playoffs that year, Talbot led the league in scoring with 44 points in 20 games as he captained the Olympiques to a QMJHL Championship, earning the Guy Lafleur Trophy as playoff MVP. Playing the Kitchener Rangers in the final of the subsequent 2003 Memorial Cup, they were defeated by a 6–3 score.
In the 2003–04 season, Talbot finished third in scoring in the QMJHL with 98 points (25 goals, 73 assists) in 51 games as the team became the Gatineau Olympiques through almagamation. He led the team to a second consecutive QMJHL championship, while being named playoff MVP and leading the league in post-season scoring once more. He was the first to earn back-to-back Guy Lafleur Trophies since Marc Saumier in 1987 and 1988.[1] The Olympiques were, however, defeated for the second straight year in the Memorial Cup final, losing to the Kelowna Rockets 2–1.
As the 2004–05 season approached, Talbot was signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins and was assigned to make his debut with the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He was assigned to various linemates and was placed in many role playing opportunities.[1] He did not have the offensive power in the AHL that he did in the QMJHL, but Talbot showed quality traits in other aspects of the game as he finished his debut season with 19 points (7 goals, 12 assists) in 75 games.[1]
With an impressive training camp, Talbot made the Penguins opening roster for the 2005–06 season, making his NHL debut against the New Jersey Devils. He scored his first NHL goal on October 14, 2005, from center ice against the Philadelphia Flyers. His primary role during his rookie season was that of a penalty killer.[1] He would later be sent back down to the AHL after 48 games in the NHL, during which time he recorded 8 points (5 goals, 3 assists).
Talbot did not start the 2006–07 season in the NHL, but was recalled by Pittsburgh on October 24, 2006, just 5 games into the AHL season.[2] He would play that same night against the New Jersey Devils. Talbot continued to play a key role on the penalty kill, recording 4 shorthanded goals to go with a season total of 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists).
Talbot scored four goals in the first five games of the 2007–08 season. He was the part of an on-ice prank on December 1, 2007, when he briefly donned the jersey of teammate Sidney Crosby during an optional practice that Crosby had chosen to skip. He initially drew a large cheer from the crowd in Toronto before they realized the jersey switch.
In Game 3 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Talbot scored a backhand goal against Ottawa Senators goaltender Martin Gerber less than five minutes after the Senators had taken the lead in that game. In the Conference Finals against the Philadelphia Flyers, Talbot scored the game-winning goal in the third period of Game 2. He did this in his first game back from a broken foot that had sidelined him for the previous four playoff games. In Game 5 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings, he scored the tying goal with 35 seconds remaining, allowing the Penguins to score in triple overtime to force a Game 6.
Midway through the final year of his initial contract with the Penguins, 2008–09, Talbot re-signed on December 19, 2008, to a two-year contract extension through the 2010–11 season. The Penguins returned to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second consecutive year against Detroit. Talbot scored both of the Penguins' goals in the seventh and deciding game of the series to capture the franchise's third Stanley Cup.[3]
For the 2009–10 season, Talbot served as the Penguins representative to the NHL Players Association, a position he took over from Matt Cooke.[4]
While playing for the Penguins, Talbot has appeared in numerous television commercials, including Valley Pool and Spa, City of Champions Crunch cereal (which featured Talbot on one side of the box and Pittsburgh Steeler Hines Ward on the other), and three commercials for Pittsburgh A&L Motor Sales (these A&L commercials have earned him the nickname "Superstar"). He also appeared in an RBK commercial with teammate Sidney Crosby which aired during the 2010 NHL Winter Classic.
While promoting the 2011 NHL Winter Classic, Talbot called out Alexander Ovechkin during an interview with a Pittsburgh radio station, calling him "a real douche."[5]
After being unable to come to terms with the Penguins on a new contract, Talbot surprised many by signing a five year, $8.75 million contract with the Penguin's in-state rival Philadelphia Flyers on July 1, 2011.
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Canada | ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
| Silver | 2004 Canada | |
He also helped team Team Canada win a silver medal as an alternate captain in the 2004 World Junior Championships in Helsinki.[1]
Talbot's father's, Serge, is a construction worker.[1] His mother Lucie is a high school teacher. He also has two older brothers, Will and Frank.[1]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2000–01 | Rouyn-Noranda Huskies | QMJHL | 40 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 78 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Hull Olympiques | QMJHL | 24 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 60 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2001–02 | Hull Olympiques | QMJHL | 65 | 24 | 36 | 60 | 174 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 51 | ||
| 2002–03 | Hull Olympiques | QMJHL | 69 | 46 | 58 | 104 | 130 | 20 | 14 | 30 | 44 | 33 | ||
| 2003–04 | Gatineau Olympiques | QMJHL | 51 | 25 | 73 | 98 | 41 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 75 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 62 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 | ||
| 2005–06 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 48 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 42 | 12 | 20 | 32 | 80 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 16 | ||
| 2006–07 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 75 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 53 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 2006–07 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 63 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 53 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 36 | ||
| 2008–09 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 75 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 63 | 24 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 19 | ||
| 2009–10 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 45 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 30 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 11 | ||
| 2010–11 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 82 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 66 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 14 | ||
| NHL totals | 388 | 52 | 56 | 108 | 324 | 66 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 87 | ||||