Talbot made his
National Hockey League (NHL) debut for the
Montreal Canadiens on February 13, 1955, against the
New York Rangers at
Madison Square Garden. He only played in two other games and spent the rest of that season in the minors, but made the Canadiens' roster the following year. He played the full schedule for three consecutive seasons from 1960 to 1963. Talbot played in the NHL from 1955 to 1971, for the
Minnesota North Stars,
Detroit Red Wings,
St. Louis Blues,
Buffalo Sabres and
Montreal Canadiens. With the Canadiens, he won seven
Stanley Cup championships. Talbot was well known for being a sound passer. He was also known for having a clean but rather physical style of play which ultimately helped Montreal win Stanley Cups. Talbot wore jersey #17 during his time with Montreal. Talbot played 1,056 games, scoring 43 goals and adding 242 assists for 285 points. He was also assessed 1,006 penalty minutes. He was voted a First-Team All-Star in 1961–62 and was selected for six all-star games (1956, 1957, 1960, 1962, 1965 and 1967). He finished third in voting for the
James Norris Memorial Trophy in 1961–62. At the time of his death, he won the second-most championships without having been inducted into the
Hockey Hall of Fame, behind his former teammate
Claude Provost's nine. ==Coaching career==