Max Talbot

Infobox Ice Hockey Player
position = Centre
shoots = Left
height_ft = 5
height_in = 11
weight_lb = 190
team = Pittsburgh Penguins
former_teams =
league = NHL
nationality = CAN
birth_date = Birth date and age|1984|2|11|mf=y
birth_place = LeMoyne, PQ, Canada
career_start = 2005
draft = 8th Rnd, 234th overall
draft_year = 2002
draft_team = Pittsburgh Penguins

---

image_size = 200px
nickname = Mad Max, Superstar

Maxime "Max" Talbot is a professional ice hockey player who currently plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League.

Early career and junior hockey

Junior

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.cite web|url=http://hockeysfuture.com/prospects/maxime_talbot|author=Hockey's Future|title=Maxime Talbot Player Profile Pittsburgh Penguins|accessmonthday=29 April|accessyear=2007|language=English] Before the 2002 season started, he was named team captain and finished the year with 46 goals, 104 points and 69 penalty minutes in 69 games. In the playoffs that year, Talbot exploded for 44 points in 20 games as he captained the Olympiques to a QMJHL Championship. He also helped team Team Canada win a silver medal as an alternate captain in the World Junior Championships in Helsinki.

In the 2003-04 season, Talbot finish third in scoring in the QMJHL with 98 points (25 goals, 73 assists) in 51 games as the team was renamed Gatineau. Talbot revived the QMJHL Playoff MVP award for the second time in a row. He was the first to complete this feat in roughly 30 years.

AHL

As the 2004-05 season approached, Talbot was signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins and was assigned to make his debut with the team's AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Here, he was assigned to various linemates and was placed into a lot of role playing opportunities. 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 the his debut season with 19 points (7 goals, 12 assists) in 75 games.

NHL career

2005-2006 Season

With an impressive training camp, Talbot made the NHL roster for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2005-2006 season and debuted his talents on opening night 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 his rookie season was a specialty penalty killer. He would later be sent back down to the AHL after 48 games in the NHL, where he recorded 8 points (5 goals, 3 assists).

2006-2007 Season

Talbot did not start the 2006-07 season in the NHL, but was recalled by Pittsburgh on October 24, 2006, after only playing 5 games in for Wilkes-Barre.cite web|url=http://0607.wbspenguins.com/news/news_releases/102406_talbot.asp|author=Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins|title=Talbot Recalled by Pittsburgh|accessmonthday=29 April|accessyear=2007|language=English] He would play that same night in the Pittsburgh Penguins game against the New Jersey Devils. Talbot would continue to play in key role player situations, such as the penalty kill where he recorded 4 shorthanded goals, and finished the season with 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists).

2007-2008 season

Talbot has started off on the right foot early in the 07-08 NHL season. In the opening 5 games, Maxime recorded 4 goals. He was the subject of a 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), initially drawing a large cheer from the crowd in Toronto before they had noticed Talbot's un-Crosby-like features.

Talbot has become known among Pens fans as a player who can score an important goal, and he did so in Game Three of the 2008 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals by scoring 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 2008 Eastern Conference Finals against the Philadelphia Flyers, Talbot scored a tie-breaking (and ultimately game winning) goal in the 3rd period of Game 2 to help the Pittsburgh Penguins on their way to victory. He did this in his first game back from a broken foot that had sidelined him for the previous 4 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 overtime to keep Pittsburgh's hope of winning the Cup alive. Unfortunately, the Penguins lost the next game, giving Detroit the Stanley Cup.

Career statistics

References

External links

*hockeydb|00055072