When the Chicago Blackhawks went through their free-agent signing frenzy on July 1, goaltender was the only position that predictably received a significant upgrade. General manager Kyle Davidson said at the end of the season that he would “thoroughly review” the position given backup goaltender Arvid Soderblom's struggles. Now, until Soderblom can get back on track in Rockford, they have a replacement: Laurent Brossoit, who signed a two-year contract (annual salary of $3.3 million).
In speaking about the deal, Davidson said Brosoit “has been a really good first baseman or backup player in our league for quite a long time.”
With that in mind, get to know Brosoit in the latest edition of “Meet the New Blackhawks!”
Brossoit could have elements of Mrazek.
While researching Laurent Broissoit, the 31-year-old's career reminded me of Petr Mrazek, whom Broissoit backed. Mrazek began his career with the Edmonton Oilers in 2015, spending four years there. He then moved to the Winnipeg Jets in 2018, spending two years there before moving to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2021 and winning the Stanley Cup with the team in 2023. He then signed a one-year contract to return to Winnipeg last season, where he enjoyed the best season of his career statistically, starting 22 games and recording 15 wins, 5 losses and 2 draws, a 2.00 earned run average (GAA) and a .927 save percentage (SV%). Serving as a backup to Connor Hellebuyck, they created the best goaltending duo in the league, with Broissoit posting the best SV% of any goaltender in the NHL last season. While he played fewer games than other goalies in the top 10, such as Hellebuyck, it's still impressive.
In terms of consistency, he is reminiscent of Mrazek. If you read anything about Brosoit's career, the concern about consistency comes up. He was similar to Mrazek before coming to Chicago, alternating between good and bad seasons. For example, his recent SV% numbers since 2019-20 are .895, .918, .827, .927, .927, but I expect the magic he found in Winnipeg to carry over to Chicago. After all, he has a rich history of being big in the goaltending department, and if he's a player like Mrazek, he'll play at a high level in Chicago too.
Brossoit is moving things forward
The great thing about Brosoit is that wherever he has played, he has pushed his goalie partners to improve, which speaks volumes about him as both a player and a teammate. When he was with Vegas in 2023, they were playing the Oilers in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but unfortunately he went down with a lower-body injury. Adin Hill then took his place and led Vegas to their first Stanley Cup win in franchise history. In Winnipeg, he helped lead Helak Buk's game to a Vezina victory.
In the Blackhawks, he will undoubtedly be a match for Mrazek. Mrazek was great last season, but who knows what he'll do next season. So, it's never a bad idea to have as many defenders as possible on your goalie. When talking about the Blackhawks, Brosoit said, “We're [him and Mrazek] “It's healthy competition, it's playing time, it's an opportunity to prove to the organization that I can be a true starter. It's the perfect stepping stone to my ultimate goal of one day becoming a starter.” (From “New Blackhawks goaltender Laurent Brossoit wants to prove himself in a bigger role” – The Athletic – July 18, 2024)
Mrazek will likely be the starter for Opening Day, but it will be a positive for both goalies as he is expected to be tested throughout the season. What was striking about Davidson's press conference was that he mentioned that the players trust Brosoit when he is playing, a quality the Blackhawks lacked. This is not a knock on Mrazek, as they have a lot of trust in their “linchpin.” But a running theme over the past few seasons has been players struggling to recover after being scored on. So being able to trust two goalies as strongly as the Boston Bruins were able to do with Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark, and the New York Rangers were able to do with Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick last year, should help the team stay mentally strong through the pain of the rebuild.
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When Brosoit returns to Winnipeg in 2023, he said, “I'm going to push him.” [Hellebuyck] “Hopefully, like the last time I was here, we can grow off of each other and become the best duo in the league.” Winnipeg did that last season, and hopefully Brosoit and Mrazek can influence each other in a similar way. They may not be a Stanley Cup duo, but they should be a solid bridge for the next two years until one of Chicago's top goalie prospects, Adam Gajan, Drew Commesso or Soderblom, is ready to take over. His addition was important to help the Blackhawks moving forward and give Mrazek some extra support. It's a win-win.
While Brosoit enjoys pushing his teammates to new heights, he also seems more than ready to make a name for himself by putting pressure on himself to become a starter, which should be a fun story to watch next season and beyond.
