Training camp is still a few weeks away but one of the Blackhawks big free-agent signings likely won’t be skating for some — or perhaps all — of it.
The team announced on Wednesday afternoon that goaltender Laurent Brossoit underwent a successful operation on his right knee at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago on Tuesday. The timeline for his return was set at 5-7 weeks.
With Chicago set to open the season on Tuesday, Oct. 8 on the road against the Utah Hockey Club, that recovery timeline suggests Brossoit may miss some regular-season action as well.
Brossoit, 31, signed with the Blackhawks back in July during the team’s free-agent frenzy. While he’s consistently been a backup for the last several seasons, his numbers suggest he’s been pretty good in that role and it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility for Brossoit to nab some more playing time in Chicago — perhaps to the extent of being labeled a “co-starter” alongside incumbent Petr Mrazek.
This injury throws a little cold water on that, although there will still be ample time for Brossoit to prove worthy of a new career-high in games played, as his personal best is 24 back in 2021-22 with the Vegas Golden Knights. Any injury to one player is an opportunity for another in professional sports, though, and this also opens a brief window for Arvid Soderblom to prove that last season’s struggles were not indicative of his long-term NHL prospects. Although, given Brossoit’s expected return time, there won’t be too much time for Soderblom to make that case.