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Monday, 11 July 2011 12:01

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

"The Departed" series on Empty Netters is a set of "eulogies" for former Penguins who have passed away... to other teams. Essentially, we look back on their time as a Penguin, examine their contributions to the franchise and as real eulogies occasionally do, exaggerate a bit. Today's eulogy is dedicated to Maxime Talbot.

And sometimes, you can find a "Superstar."

An eighth-round pick in 2002 out of Hull of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey Leagues, Maxime Talbot was pretty much a longshot the very moment the Penguins selected him on the floor of the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. Drafted at 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds, his size was already working against his NHL hopes.

But it seemed once that Talbot was drafted, his junior hockey career took off. He spent the next two seasons with the Olympiques franchise in Hull (2002-03) and Gatineau (2003-04). He led the franchise in scoring twice and won the QMJHL's Guy Lafleur Trophy each season as playoff MVP while leading the Olympiques to back to back President's Cup championships.

Talbot graduated to the professional ranks during the 2004-05 NHL lockout and appeared in 75 games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins while contributing 19 points under head coach Michel Therrien.

After the lockout was resolved, the Penguins had a new lease on life and spent lavishly on high profile free agents such as Zigmund Palffy and John LeClair, there surely wasn't any room on the roster for any rookies aside from of No. 1 overall pick Sidney Crosby.

Despite the long odds, Talbot made the roster out of camp for his tenacious work on the penalty kill. Almost immediately, Talbot showed he belonged at this level. In his fifth game, he scored his first career goal - in a fluky fashion - against the rival Flyers:

Working primarily on the fourth line that season with the likes of enforcers such as Ryan VandenBussche and Andre Roy, Talbot's minutes and scoring chances were limited as he only collected eight points in 48 games. In late January, with the team struggling, Talbot was demoted to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to aid his development. In 42 AHL games, he racked up 32 points.

Talbot would begin the 2006-07 season with the AHL Penguins. After five games, he was recalled to the NHL for good in late October. In his second game, he found luck against the Flyers once again by scoring two goals, including the game-winner, in an 8-2 rout.

As the young team grew, Talbot emerged to find a more prominent role than just being a fourth-line grinder. He found a way to score key goals. With the Penguins down 4-0 on the road, he scored the team's first goal in a wild 5-4 comeback shootout win against the Capitals Dec. 11:

Talbot's biggest goal that season was a game-winner with less than 10 seconds left in a 3-2 road win against the Senators April 5 which kept the Penguins' hopes for home ice in the first-round alive:

Talbot finished the season by appearing in 75 games with 24 points. He helped the franchise reach the postseason for the first time in six years and contributed one assist in a five-game loss to the Senators in the first round. His emergence as a viable role player earned him a two-year contract extension in the 2007 offseason.

The 2007-08 regular season was noted for the long-term injuries suffered by Penguins players. Crosby missed nearly 30 games due to ankle injury. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was limited to 35 games due to his own ankle injury. Fan favorite Gary Roberts suffered a gruesome broken leg just before New Year's Eve which forced him to miss most of the season. Talbot was not immune to the injury bug either as he was in and out of the lineup due to persistent foot and ankle ailments. Despite his injuries, Talbot was able to establish a career high in points (26).

The Penguins would the Atlantic Division title, their first division crown in a decade, and entered the postseason as the No. 2 seed. The Penguins coasted through the first three rounds by beating the Senators (four games), Rangers (five games) and Flyers (five games) too advance to the Stanley Cup final for the first time since 1992.

From the start of the final against the Red Wings, the Penguins seemed overmatched. They lost the first two games of the series in a pair of 3-0 shutouts. After spliting Games 3 and 4 at home, the Penguins faced the prospect of elimination in Game 5. With 35 seconds left in regulation, Talbot was placed on the ice in a desperate situation and delivered in the clutch:

Talbot's goal kept the Penguins alive and allowed Petr Sykora to score the game-winner in the third overtime on a power play. Despite those heroics, the Penguins would lose Game 6 at home and lose the Cup. But the Penguins established themselves as a Stanley Cup contender and Talbot established himself as a playoff performer at the NHL level.

Despite rebounding in terms of his health and appearing in 75 games, Talbot's offense dipped a bit in 2008-09 as he only recorded 22 points. The team struggled overall as well and found itself in 10th place of the Eastern Conference by mid-February. After losing a 6-2 rout in Toronto Feb. 14, management decided to fire Therrien and replace him with Dan Bylsma. The move sparked the team to finish the season with an 18-3-4 record and a fourth-place finish.

Talbot contributed a goal in a 3-1 win against the rival Flyers in Game 4 of a Eastern Conference quarterfinal round but his biggest contribution came in Game 6. With the Flyers storming out to a 3-0 lead in a must-win situation, Talbot turned the tides by picking a fight with Flyers hot head Daniel Carcillo:

Just 10 seconds later, Ruslan Fedotenko would score a goal which be the start of  comeback which saw the Penguins score five unanswered goals in a thrilling 5-3 win which clinched the series. Talbot's fight sparked the comeback and his "shush" became a moment as iconic as any in the history of the franchise.

After contributing a goal in a thrilling 4-3 series win against the rival Capitals in the second round, Talbot contributed two goals on the Eastern Conference final against the Hurricanes. He scored the series-clinching goal off a fluky bounce over the glove hand of Carolina goaltender Cam Ward during a 4-1 Game 4 victory which sent the Penguins back to the Stanley Cup final:

In the Cup final, the Penguins once again faced the Red Wings. And it looked like the series would be a repeat of 2008 as the Red Wings won the first two games at home, 3-1. Desperate for a win at home in Game 3, Talbot contributed two goals in a 4-2 comeback victory. In Game 4, Talbot recorded the primary assist on Jordan Staal's series-changing shorthanded goal which tied the game, 2-2:

The Penguins won the game, 4-2, and tied the series, 2-2. With a chance to claim a lead in Game 5, they laid an absolute egg in a 5-0 shutout loss. Forced with another must-win in Game 6, the Penguins got another contribution from Talbot. Winning a one-on-one battle in the corner against Detroit defenseman Jonathan Ericsson, Talbot was able to set up Tyler Kennedy for the winning goal in a 2-1 victory:

That set up a do or die situation for both teams in Game 7.

Talbot did:

The Penguins won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 17 years largely due to the efforts of Talbot. In a series with the elite talents of Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, it was Talbot, the self-proclaimed "Superstar," who led the entire series in goals with four including his two goals in a 2-1 Game 7 victory.

Talbot's summer was a whirlwind of celebration but was marred partially by offseason shoulder surgery. On opening night of the 2009-10 season, when the team raised a championship banner to start its final season at the Mellon Arena, Talbot, who would be sidelined to start the campaign due to his shoulder ailment, received an ovation as loud as those normally reserved for stars such as Crosby or Malkin:

Sadly, that might have been the highlight of Talbot's season as he didn't return to the lineup until late November. And even then, he struggled to produce offense. In one stretch, he failed to score in 31 consecutive games. In 45 games that season, he only scored seven points.

But as in years past, Talbot's play picked in the postseason. He managed to contribute six points in just 13 games. Despite his play, the team lost in the second round to a pesky Canadiens team.

With longer summer compared to 2009, Talbot was set up for a rebound in 2010-11. But while he managed to play in a complete 82-game schedule for the first time in his career, he simply did not contribute at the same pace as he did before his surgery. His offensive totals dipped again as he only compiled 21 points.

Despite his declining production, Talbot became a key contributor on the team's league-best penalty kill. Talbot's energy helped the Penguins lead the NHL with a success rate of 86.1 percent on the penalty kill. He also helped them score 13 shorthanded goals, second-most in the league:

The playoffs came around and once again, Talbot stepped up his game. In just seven games, he was able to contribute four points including the opening goal in Game 3 against the Lightning, a 3-2 victory:

With Crosby and Malkin both injured, the Penguins simply didn't have the offensive firepower to match the Lightning and lost in the first round. That would bring Talbot's successful career with the Penguins to a close as he joined the rival Flyers, a team he enjoyed quite a bit of individual success against, as a free agent.

In terms of regular season numbers, Talbot's contributions are rather ordinary. In 388 regular season contests, he scored 108 points, 75th most in franchise history. Run of the mill players such as Ross Lonsberry and John Chabot scored more points for the Penguins in fewer games.

But the postseason where Talbot made his name. And the numbers back that up:

-In 66 career postseason games, he scored 33 points, 12th-most in franchise history. Hall of Famers such as Joe Mullen (31) and Paul Coffey (26) scored fewer points for the Penguins.

-In terms of Stanley Cup Finals, Talbot scored five goals. Only the legendary Mario Lemieux (10) and all-star Kevin Stevens (six) scored more career goals in Cup finals for the franchise.

-Most importantly, Talbot's postseason goals meant something. The Penguins were 11-1 anytime he scored a playoff goal. That's a winning percentage of .916.

Talbot wasn't really a "Superstar." He just acted like one when it mattered most.

(Photos: First-Jamie Sabau/Getty Images; Second-Harry How/Getty Images; Third-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Comments (8)

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written by kpa42, July 11, 2011 - 12:39 PM

Bah. I was over Max leaving and you post this. At this point I'm ready to admit that short of a little positive chemistry, we're not losing much contribution in his departure. But it's tough to keep watching the pieces of the Cup team leave town. Especially such a big contributor to that Cup as Max.

Ah well. At least the fathers in Pittsburgh can sleep a bit more comfortably knowing their daughters aren't in danger of being Superstarred.

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written by GenoSid, July 11, 2011 - 01:13 PM

What Max did was only semantically different than what Jagr did.

He could have signed with 27 other teams and been a lifelong Pittsburgh legend.

Now...he's just a Flyer.

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written by Matt Eager, July 11, 2011 - 01:25 PM

On the top picture, the expression on the face of the kid in the tie always kills me.

I'll miss Talbot, and I'll miss being able to wear my Talbot jersey for at least the next five years. But the Pens will be fine without him.

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written by Uli, July 11, 2011 - 04:44 PM

I wish him all the best. He contributed a lot for the Penguins. Maybe that´s the reason for making me upset that he joined the Flyers.

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written by Disgruntled Goat, July 11, 2011 - 05:29 PM

Good luck Max. I hope you have a great season ...... and miss the playoffs.

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written by eman41, July 11, 2011 - 05:54 PM

I'm sure Talbot will score 7 goals next season and 4 will be against the Pens.

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written by Gilligan19, July 11, 2011 - 11:16 PM

I think both the Pens and Max were better together. Yes, the Pens will be okay. However, you don't have to dig very hard to see how much he contributed on the ice or in the locker room. His impact went well beyond regular season points totals and I think fans of the team easily recognize that. I don't know if Max will be appreciated quite the same way in Philly. I live there now and hockey is clearly sport #4 and is not woven into the fabric of the city like it is in the 'Burgh. He truly was a Pittsburgh Superstar with the combination of his post-season heroics and the popularity of the team. So, while I think both will recover to be fine in the long run, it is a lose-lose situation from my perspective. I wish him the best as an individual and noting but abject failure for his new team. He will always be our Superstar, and I look forward to welcoming him home again on Dec 29 at Consol.

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written by philmatt24, July 12, 2011 - 12:48 PM

Wow, Seth, you really laid it out there. It was a lot more than just "Shhhh" and two Game 7 SCF goals; this guy really stepped up in numerous playoff situations. I know the Pens couldn't have paid $1.8M for 20 point production from a 4th line / PK guy, but I just hope there are some other character guys ready to step up the next few springs. Of course the core of the team is strong, but the Red Wings series in '09 showed that often the stars cancel each other out, and you need that 4th liner to step up and be the difference.

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