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ANALYSIS: What would a trade return be for Laurent Brossoit?

  
Laurent Brossoit is on the verge of his return, but the Chicago Blackhawks have no room for him. (Photo courtesy of the Chicago Blackhawks)

When the Chicago Blackhawks signed Laurent Brossoit in the summer of 2024, it was believed that he would be a tandem goalie with then-starter Petr Mrazek. Brossoit would not suit up for the Blackhawks at all last season due to a knee injury.

After the acquisition of Spencer Knight and the rebound of Arvid Soderblom, the Blackhawks figured Brossoit was a lost cause. The Hawks would carry his contract on injured reserve this season and let him walk as a free agent. Following double hip surgery, which helped relieve the issues in his knee, the former Winnipeg Jets goalie is attempting a comeback.

The first step in his attempted comeback is a conditioning assignment with the Rockford IceHogs.  The stint can last up to 14 days, which is already underway.

Now the Blackhawks have given his agent, Ray Petkau, permission to speak to others to see if there is any interest.

Before his injuries, Brossoit had compiled an impressive 15-5-2 record with the Jets with a 2.00 goals against average and .927 save percentage.

Analysis: What will be a Brossoit trade return?

Brossoit has now played two games with Rockford. He has recorded 3.56 goals averaged and a .891 save percentage on his two starts. While the numbers are not great, it was first live game action in over two years. The Rink’s very own Jimmy O’Malley speculated the return from Brossoit could be seventh-round pick with conditions to be become upwards of a fifth based on games played.

Now, Jimmy’s prediction was before the Tristan Jarry trade to the Edmonton Oilers.

While the Jarry trade elimanated the Oilers from the Brossoit sweepstakes, it also sets the goalie trade market. Before this surge from Jarry, he was playing like a below-league-average goalie, while Stuart Skinner was also playing in a similar fashion.

Now this deal was basically a wash in terms of salary cap; the Oilers had to pay the freight for Jarry to come to Edmonton with a second-round pick in 2029.

While Kyle Davidson would love to get a second-round pick for Brossoit, odds are still closer to Jimmy’s prediction with the ceiling being a fifth-round pick outright. While the return will be a late-round pick at best, that does not mean there won’t be a shortage of suitors. The possible remaining suitors for Brossoit figure to be the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens.

Possible suitors: Red Wings and Canadiens

The Red Wings need to make the playoffs this season and their goalie duo is not helping their cause. The current goalies on the Red Wings’ roster are John Gibson and Cam Talbot. Gibson has a .884 save percentage with a 3.32 goals against average. Talbot is not much better with a .885 save percentage and 3.01 goals against average. Gibson is still under contract for next season, while Talbot is in the last year of his deal.

Brossoit could be a fit with the Wings because their need in net but also because of Davidson’s relationship with Steve Yzerman, as the Wings and Hawks completed a trade last season for Mrazek.

In Montreal, the goalie situation is not much better. The Habs called up 2023 draft pick Jacob Fowler to make his NHL debut earlier this week. Fowler has played 18 AHL games after playing two seasons at Boston College. While Fowler won in his first NHL start, rushing goalies to the NHL is not a receipt for success.

The reason for Fowler’s callup is because of the poor play of their goalie tandem, Jakub Dobes and Sam Montembeault. Dobes has a .887 save percentage and 3.15 goals against average, while Montembeault has a .857 save percentage and a 3.65 goals against average.

It is clear that the Habs are desperate for a spark with their goalies.

Both teams would benefit from a league-average goalie. The current league average for goalies in the NHL is a .900 save percentage and around 3.00 goals allowed per game. These are numbers that Brossoit exceeded when he was fully healthy.

Davidson’s decision

As we have seen in the past with Davidson trades, he does what is best for the Blackhawks but also the player involved. His trade of Seth Jones dramatically helped reshape the Blackhawks and sent Jones to a team he desired. Patrick Kane wanted to go to the New York Rangers when he was traded and Davidson facilitated that deal. Even in a lesser deal, Jack Johnson was sent back to Colorado after his brief time in Chicago.

While the return will not be large, the deal will benefit the player and the Blackhawks. Hopefully there is a deal to be done soon.

In a fun twist, Brossoit scored a goalie goal, Friday night against the Milwaukee Admirals.

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