When the Chicago Blackhawks made their free agent frenzy signings on July 1, goaltending was the one position that unsurprisingly got a big upgrade. General manager Kyle Davidson said at the end of the season that he would “take a deep look” at the position, considering backup goaltender Arvid Söderblom‘s struggles. Now, they have a replacement while he finds his game again in Rockford: Laurent Brossoit, who was signed to a two-year deal ($3.3 million AAV).
When speaking on the signing, Davidson mentioned Brossoit has been a “really good 1B or backup for quite some time in our league.”
With that in mind, let’s get to know Brossoit in the latest edition of ‘Meet the New Blackhawks!’
Brossoit Can Have The Mrazek Factor
When researching Laurent Broissoit, the 31-year-old’s career reminded me of Petr Mrazek, who Brossoit will be backing. He started his career with the Edmonton Oilers in 2015, where he spent four years. He then went to the Winnipeg Jets in 2018, where he spent two years, and then made his way to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2021 and won the Stanley Cup with them in 2023. Afterward, he signed a one-year deal to head back to Winnipeg last season, where he statically had the best season of his career, posting a 15-5-2 record in 22 games started, with a 2.00 GAA (Goals-against average) and a .927 SV% (Save percentage). His being Connor Hellebuyck’s backup made for the best goaltending duo in the league, and Brossoit also carried the best SV% among NHL goalies last season. He had fewer games than some of the other goalies in the top 10, like Hellebuyck, but it’s still impressive.
He reminds me of Mrazek in terms of consistency. When reading anything about Brossoit’s career, consistency concerns come up. He seemed similar to Mrazek before he came to Chicago, alternating good and bad seasons. For example, his recent SV% numbers since 2019-20 go .895, .918, .827, .927, .927, but the hope is that the magic he found in Winnipeg will carry over to Chicago. After all, he has an extensive resume, which means a lot in the goaltending sphere, and if he is anything like Mrazek, he, too, will play at a high level in Chicago.
Brossoit “Pushes” Things Forward
A cool note about Brossoit is that anywhere he has played, he has pushed his goaltending partners to improve, which speaks to him as a player and teammate. When he was in Vegas in 2023, they were facing the Oilers in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and he unfortunately went down with a lower-body injury. He was then replaced by Adin Hill, who ended up leading Vegas to their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. In Winnipeg, he pushed Helluckbuyck’s game into a Vezina-winning one.
With the Blackhawks, he will undoubtedly be there to push Mrazek. As fantastic as Mrazek was last season, you never know what next season will bring. Therefore, getting as much security as you can in net is never a bad idea. When speaking about the Blackhawks, Brossoit said, “I think it’s going to be a situation where we [him and Mrazek] can have a healthy competition and I can earn starts and try prove to the organization that I can be a bona fide starter. It was a perfect stepping stone for me to get to the ultimate goal of becoming a starter one day.” (from ‘New Blackhawks goalie Laurent Brossoit eager to prove himself in larger role’ – The Athletic – 07/18/2024).
Mrazek will likely be the opening night starter, but I could see him getting challenged throughout the season, which can only benefit both goalies. Something that stood out to me in Davidson’s press conference is that he mentioned how players have confidence in Brossoit when he plays, which is a quality the Blackhawks have been lacking. That’s not against Mrazek, as they immensely trust their “rock.’ But a continuing theme from the past few seasons was how players have had a hard time recovering after getting scored on, so being able to strongly trust two goalies, like the Boston Bruins were able to do with Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark, and how the New York Rangers were able to do with Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick last year, should help the team maintain a resilient mentality through the aches of the rebuild.
When Brossoit returned to Winnipeg in 2023, he stated, “I’m going to push him [Hellebuyck] like I did when I was here last, and hopefully we can both be better for it and have the strongest tandem in the league.” Winnipeg achieved that last season, and hopefully, Brossoit and Mrazek can affect each other in a similar manner. They may not end up being a Stanley Cup tandem, but they should make a solid stopgap for the next two years until Chicago’s goalie prospects like Adam Gajan, Drew Commesso, and Söderblom are ready to take over. Adding his services was important to help move things along for the Blackhawks and give extra support for Mrazek. It’s a win-win.
Brossoit enjoys pushing his teammates to new heights, but it also seems he is more than ready to make his own mark by pressing to be a starter, and that should be a fun storyline to watch next season and beyond.
