Laurent Brossoit was so excited to finally be completely healthy and have a full offseason to train for the upcoming NHL season. He signed a two-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks in July and was eager to prove he could become a No. 1 goalie this year.
Brossoit is expected to still have that opportunity, but his offseason didn’t go as planned and ended in injury. On Wednesday, the Blackhawks announced Brossoit underwent meniscus surgery on his right knee at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago on Tuesday.
The Blackhawks anticipate Brossoit to recover in five to seven weeks. He will likely miss most of training camp but could return to play just before the season or early into it. The Blackhawks open the season on the road at the Utah Hockey Club on Oct. 8.
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The Blackhawks signed the 31-year-old Brossoit to a two-year contract with a $3.3 million cap hit on July 1. Brossoit was 15-5-2 with a .927 save percentage in 23 games with the Winnipeg Jets last season. He underwent hip surgery before the 2022-23 season and had flourished as a backup with the Jets and Vegas Golden Knights in the past few seasons. He said last month he’s hopeful to show he’s capable of even more with the Blackhawks.
“Of course, the goaltending position, I think there’s room for an opportunity there for me,” Brossoit said of the Blackhawks last month. “I thought it was a great organizational position for me to come in and have a couple years to prove that I can be the stabilizing factor back there. That was kind of a big piece to it.”
Arvid Söderblom will likely fill in for Brossoit until he returns. Söderblom played all of last season in the NHL for the Blackhawks, but his inconsistent play led them to sign Brossoit this offseason to go along with goalie Petr Mrázek. Söderblom was 5-22-2 with a .880 save percentage in 32 games last season.
(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
