A few weeks ago, goaltender Laurent Brossoit came out of nowhere, hitting the ice for practice at Fifth Third Arena. It was a pleasant surprise given that he still has yet to suit up for a game for the Blackhawks after signing a two-year contract in summer 2024. In August 2024, he underwent knee surgery, then a follow-up procedure that knocked him out for the rest of the year. Then, this past summer, he had a hip surgery that put him on the team’s injured, non-roster list for the start of the season.
According to the Blackhawks, Brossoit is finally ready to go—sort of. On Tuesday, Chicago activated him from the injured, non-roster list and assigned him to the IceHogs for a conditioning stint.
AHL conditioning stint rules allow an NHL team to temporarily send a player to the AHL without clearing waivers. The stint cannot exceed 14 days. Brossoit will get a few days of practice and could see some action when the IceHogs play Friday and Saturday in Rockford.
But while it’s great that Brossoit is feeling healthy and the Blackhawks have another solid goaltender in the system, that leaves them with a tough decision to make within the next two weeks. They can’t leave him in Rockford, as he would then have to go through waivers and would certainly be snagged by another team. Several franchises across the league are hurting between the pipes right now, and while Brossoit hasn’t been on the ice in almost two years, he was excellent the last time he played, posting a .927 save percentage and 2.00 GAA. There are plenty of teams who would take that all day.
The Blackhawks probably aren’t dealing either of their other goaltenders. Spencer Knight is one of the most untouchable players in the league at the moment, and Arvid Soderblom has been inconsistent at times this year, but he’s still 26 years old and has another year left on his contract. That means Chicago will be looking to trade Brossoit sometime soon. He’s been linked to the Oilers lately, but there are several teams who will be calling GM Kyle Davidson. With a $3.3 million cap hit, 50% of that will likely be absorbed by the Blackhawks, who have more than enough room under the cap ceiling.
It’ll be interesting to see what kind of return Chicago can get in exchange for Brossoit. On one hand, goaltenders are in short supply at the moment, and having one available could spark a bidding war. On the other hand, the league knows that Davidson doesn’t have a lot of bargaining power, as he’ll probably have to move Brossoit. If he can turn him into a bona fide NHL player (rather than more prospects the Blackhawks don’t have room for), it’ll be another big win for the Davidson regime.
