The Maple Leafs and netminder Laurent Brossoit will have mutual interest in a deal should he reach unrestricted free agency on July 1, The Athletic’s James Mirtle reports.
Brossoit, 31, is likely headed to market in search of a bigger role after making 22 starts last season behind Connor Hellebuyck with the Jets. He’s coming off a great season in his limited relief action, putting up a .927 SV%, 2.00 GAA and three shutouts, but without any history in a tandem role, he won’t command too much cash.
Those 22 starts were remarkably a career-high for the veteran netminder, who just completed his 10th NHL season. His career numbers (.911 SV%, 2.64 GAA) rival the other top options slated for the open market, like Anthony Stolarz and Cam Talbot, and he’s arguably been the best pure backup in the league over the past 18 months.
A member of the Cup-winning Golden Knights last season, Brossoit started the year on the injured list and was sent down to the minors upon his return to health in November. But he worked his way back to the Vegas roster later in the year, posting a .927 SV% in 10 starts and one relief appearance. That earned him the start in Game 1 of their postseason run against the Jets, and while an injury eventually forced him out of the crease and opened the door for Adin Hill, he’d re-established himself as a major-league talent.
As Mirtle posits, a short-term deal in the neighborhood of $3MM annually is a realistic bet for Brossoit. It’s similar to what Stolarz, who’s coming off a .925 SV% in 27 appearances behind Sergei Bobrovsky in Florida, should garner as well.
He would be Toronto’s replacement for Ilya Samsonov, who will hit free agency next month and isn’t expected back. He’d been serviceable but inconsistent in tandem action for them over the past two seasons, although he did backstop them to their first playoff series win of the Auston Matthews era against the Lightning in the first round in 2023.
In Toronto, Brossoit would nearly guarantee himself a new career-high in starts, assuming he avoids injuries. He’d serve in a tandem role with the younger Joseph Woll, who is slated to eventually take over as the Leafs’ long-term starter. Injuries limited him to 25 games last year, posting a respectable .907 SV%, but he’s also been excellent in brief playoff action over the last two seasons.
Lots of goalies can’t handle the demands of being a starter. The best they can do is as a backup. There should be no assumption AT ALL that Woll or Briossoit can ever be a starter. No more than several others such as Sparks who the Leafs assumed would be good as a starter!
Angry Harambe.
Brossoit isn’t an upgrade over Sammy! Sammy shut down the Bruins for over 60 minutes and gave these highly overpaid forwards who score at will in the regular season a chance to score ONE FCKING GOAL to win game 7 in Boston and they couldn’t.
I have a very bad feeling keeping idiot Shanahan around to allow more stupidity and mistakes to continue will destroy these next three seasons for sure! These next three seasons are the final ones for Matthews and Nylander and whoever else they resign or keep around. Cannot let Matthews walk as a UFA.
in fairness, we also don’t know what Ilya is asking for. presumably he wants term on his next deal and likely would want more per year. While I agree when he is on he is better than Brossoit, Sammy’s issue is you never know when the cliff will happen (as it does every season).
The Leafs are in an unenviable situation. They can’t really have a good plan without knowing how much of Marners cap space (if any) they have to work with.
if they can move him for a 1D that’s a huge item off the checklist. If they can move him for a Saros and a bottom 6, that’s another two big pieces. but until they figure that situation out, they need plans A-Z and beyond