Maple Leafs Linked To Laurent Brossoit
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.
West Notes: Toffoli, Brossoit, Hague, Kiviranta
The Jets don’t have a ton of pending unrestricted free agents, but enough to lead to some significant depth turnover after failing to win a playoff series for the third year in a row. Two players who could opt not to re-sign and test the open market are veteran winger Tyler Toffoli and backup netminder Laurent Brossoit, Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe of The Winnipeg Free Press posit.
Brossoit’s return to the Jets last summer for his second stint with the club was a surprise. The 31-year-old’s stock was at an all-time high after posting a .927 SV% in 11 games down the stretch for the Golden Knights after returning from injury, and he was serviceable in eight playoff appearances as Vegas won the Stanley Cup. Some believed he would be able to land a role as a tandem netminder and eclipse his previous career-high of 24 appearances, but he instead opted to return to a familiar role backing up Connor Hellebuyck on a one-year, $1.75MM deal.
It worked out as well as it possibly could for Brossoit, who was excellent with a .927 SV% and three shutouts in 22 starts and one relief appearance. Back-to-back strong seasons after a rather roller-coaster career now have him fully primed to look for more starts on the UFA market in a couple of months.
Toffoli, meanwhile, was underwhelming after the Jets paid a second and third-round pick to acquire him at 50% salary retention from the Devils at the trade deadline. He posted seven goals and 11 points in 18 games down the stretch in the regular season but saw his ice time dip in the postseason, averaging only 14:05 per game against the Avs while scoring twice with a -2 rating in the five-game loss.
Elsewhere out West:
- The Golden Knights won’t get defenseman Nicolas Hague back for Game 7 against the Stars tomorrow, head coach Bruce Cassidy said (via The Athletic’s Jesse Granger). The bottom-pairing fixture sustained a lower-body injury in Game 1 and hasn’t yet returned to practice. Hague, 25, also missed eight games with a lower-body injury early in the season. He finished the regular season with two goals, 10 assists, 12 points and a -5 rating in 73 games while averaging 18:33 per contest.
- Avalanche depth winger Joel Kiviranta is working his way back to full health while Colorado awaits the winner of tomorrow’s Dallas/Vegas game. He returned to practice yesterday for the first time since sustaining an undisclosed injury in Game 3 against Winnipeg, Colorado Hockey Now’s Evan Rawal reports. He had one assist before exiting their first-round win, averaging 10:14 per game with a +2 rating.
Nominees Announced For 2024 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy
The Bill Masterton Trophy is awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. Nominees are selected by members of the Professional Hockey Writer’s Association, with finalists being named near the end of the regular season. Previous winners include Kris Letang (2023), Carey Price (2022), and Oskar Lindblom (2021). Today, a new list of 32 nominees has been named.
Below are the nominees from each team:
Anaheim Ducks – Urho Vaakanainen
Arizona Coyotes – Connor Ingram
Boston Bruins – Danton Heinen
Buffalo Sabres – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Calgary Flames – Oliver Kylington
Carolina Hurricanes – Frederik Andersen
Chicago Blackhawks – Colin Blackwell
Colorado Avalanche – Jonathan Drouin
Columbus Blue Jackets – Zach Werenski
Dallas Stars – Matt Duchene
Detroit Red Wings – Alex Lyon
Edmonton Oilers – Vincent Desharnais
Florida Panthers – Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Los Angeles Kings – Viktor Arvidsson
Minnesota Wild – Marco Rossi
Montreal Canadiens – Joel Armia
Nashville Predators – Michael McCarron
New Jersey Devils – Curtis Lazar
New York Islanders – Cal Clutterbuck
New York Rangers – Jonathan Quick
Ottawa Senators – Claude Giroux
Philadelphia Flyers – Sean Couturier
Pittsburgh Penguins – Sidney Crosby
San Jose Sharks – Justin Bailey
Seattle Kraken – Joey Daccord
St. Louis Blues – Nathan Walker
Tampa Bay Lightning – Michael Eyssimont
Toronto Maple Leafs – Ilya Samsonov
Vancouver Canucks – Noah Juulsen
Vegas Golden Knights – Alex Pietrangelo
Washington Capitals – T.J. Oshie
Winnipeg Jets – Laurent Brossoit
Winnipeg Jets Sign Laurent Brossoit, Vladislav Namestnikov, Jeffrey Viel
The Winnipeg Jets have brought back two familiar faces. They’ve signed goaltender Laurent Brossoit back from the Vegas Golden Knights on a one-year $1.75MM deal, per TSN’s Chris Johnston. They’ve also signed forward Vladislav Namestnikov to a two-year, $2MM AAV deal per TSN’s Darren Dreger. Dreger reports they’ve also added former San Jose Sharks forward Jeffrey Viel to a one-year, one-way $775k deal.
Brossoit returns to Winnipeg after a two-year stint with Vegas. He originally signed with the Golden Knights to be their backup goalie and while he held that role in 2021-22, that wasn’t the case in 2022-23. He underwent hip surgery last summer which kept him out of the lineup at the start of the year. Upon returning, Brossoit cleared waivers and was assigned to AHL Henderson. He played in 23 games with the Silver Knights, compiling a 2.72 GAA with a .909 SV% before being recalled in February when injuries struck.
Brossoit himself couldn’t avoid the injury bug the rest of the way as he spent a month on IR soon after but he still made ten starts for Vegas, posting a 2.17 GAA with a .927 SV%; the Golden Knights picked up at least a point in each of those starts. That, coupled with injuries to Adin Hill and Logan Thompson, resulted in Brossoit being the starter for Vegas in their first-round victory over the Jets. Unfortunately, Brossoit was injured partway through the second round against Edmonton, paving the way for Hill to run with the starting job from there. Nevertheless, Brossoit did well enough to earn himself a second chance with the Jets.
As for Namestnikov, he was brought in from San Jose at the trade deadline, a day after the Sharks picked him up from Tampa Bay. The 30-year-old provided Winnipeg with some much-needed secondary scoring down the stretch, picking up 10 points in 20 games with his new team while seeing his playing time jump up by more than three minutes a night to just under 15 minutes per game.
To say that Namestnikov has bounced around in recent years would be putting it lightly. Since the 2019-20 season, the veteran has played for seven different teams (which doesn’t include his brief stint as a Shark). It’s likely that putting a second year on the table helped to secure the commitment from Namestnikov who now has a chance to get a bit of stability while remaining an important part of Winnipeg’s secondary offensive group.
Viel, meanwhile, comes to Winnipeg after a five-year stint in San Jose. The 26-year-old spent most of last season with the AHL Barracuda, picking up 15 goals and 16 assists along with 150 penalty minutes, good for third in the AHL in that department. Viel is best known for being a physical presence on the fourth line in his previous NHL duty, collecting 112 hits and 139 penalty minutes (to go along with five points) in 49 career appearances with the Sharks. As things stand, he’s a candidate to break camp with the Jets on either the fourth line or in a reserve role.
Goalie Notes: Hill/Brossoit, Reimer, Greiss
The Vegas Golden Knights’ key bit of business this offseason revolves around the two netminders who helped guide them to the team’s first Stanley Cup: journeymen Adin Hill and Laurent Brossoit. In a massive piece detailing this summer’s goalie market from The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, both Hill’s and Brossoit’s agents expressed interest in returning to the team on behalf of their clients. Both pending unrestricted free agents, Hill and Brossoit filled in for the injured Logan Thompson down the stretch and in the playoffs, with Hill ultimately going on a miracle run for the last two-and-a-half rounds of the playoffs after Brossoit sustained a lower-body injury. Hill is obviously due a significant raise from his previous $2.175MM cap hit, but LeBrun surmises that Hill knows “they’ve got a good thing going in Vegas” and may not completely maximize the leverage coming from his spectacular playoff performance. Meanwhile, Brossoit’s agent, Ray Petkau, acknowledged it may be tough for the team to retain Brossoit given their crunch at the position, but will continue to remain in contact with Vegas and explore their options.
More from LeBrun on the goalie market this evening:
- Petkau confirmed to LeBrun another one of his clients, San Jose Sharks netminder James Reimer, will hit unrestricted free agency on July 1. The 35-year-old veteran of nearly 500 games posted career-worst numbers behind a struggling Sharks team, notching just 12 wins in 41 starts and recording a .890 save percentage. While it’s hard to blame him for the team’s shortcomings, it’s also clear his days as a high-end tandem netminder are over, and he’ll likely need to settle for a strict backup role if he wants to stay in the league next season. He’ll also likely take a marginal pay cut from the two-year, $4.5MM deal he signed with San Jose in 2021.
- Another Petkau client, Thomas Greiss, will also be hitting the open market. The 37-year-old is in a similar situation to Reimer, although he’s now gone two consecutive seasons without clearing the .900 save percentage mark. The St. Louis Blues’ backup job to starter Jordan Binnington is likely going to rising prospect Joel Hofer, so it makes sense the team wouldn’t be interested in a reunion. The one-time Jennings Trophy winner could also draw interest from teams looking for an inexpensive, experienced backup netminder to start between 15 and 25 games.
Snapshots: Reynolds, Andersen, Vegas Goalies
Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch is reporting this morning that actor Ryan Reynolds has officially pulled himself out of the running to own a stake in the Ottawa Senators, per sources. Reynolds, who had aligned himself with Canadian developer Chris Bratty and the Remington Group, intended not to join other bids at the beginning of the sale process and has held true to his initial position, despite offers from groups still in the running to join their bids.
Garrioch also reports that Michael Andlauer, a minority owner of the Montreal Canadiens and one of the four bidders remaining under consideration to purchase the team, remains “confident” he’ll be the party anointed by the team and the league as Ottawa’s next owner. Two other bids were also receiving “serious consideration,” per Garrioch, but one name notably not mentioned was Neko Sparks, the Los Angeles-based investor whose bid includes backing from Snoop Dogg and the Kitigan Zibi Anishinābeg First Nations group.
- After he was given the night off for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final, thanks to Game 1 stretching well into the fourth overtime period, the Carolina Hurricanes are returning to Frederik Andersen tonight, per TVA’s Renaud Lavoie, to help them climb out of a 2-0 series hole against the Florida Panthers. His .936 save percentage leads all netminders in the playoffs, but unfortunately, the only goalie who’s played better than he, Sergei Bobrovsky, is in the opposing crease.
- Laurent Brossoit and Logan Thompson will remain out of the Vegas Golden Knights goalie rotation for Games 3 and 4 of the Western Conference Final, as head coach Bruce Cassidy today confirmed they won’t travel with the team to Dallas. While Brossoit wasn’t expected to play at all in this series, Thompson is working his way back from a lower-body injury that’s cost him the last few months and was potentially an option for the team. Adin Hill, who now boasts a .930 save percentage in seven playoff appearances, will continue in the starter’s net for Vegas.
Laurent Brossoit Not Expected Back For Western Conference Final
Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy indicated today that goaltender Laurent Brossoit is unlikely to be available for their upcoming Western Conference Final series against the Dallas Stars. Brossoit has not played or practiced since sustaining a lower-body injury in Game 3 of their Second Round win against the Edmonton Oilers.
Brossoit had performed spectacularly down the stretch for Vegas, posting a 7-0-3 record and .927 save percentage in 10 starts after an early-season injury slipped him down the depth chart and earned him an extended stay in the minors for the first time in years. He carried that over into the postseason, and while his .894 save percentage in eight playoff starts isn’t exactly flattering, he did provide some needed big saves and played a key role in guiding Vegas to the NHL’s final four.
The team’s backup to start the season, Adin Hill, came in and finished the job in Brossoit’s absence, currently leading all playoff netminders with a .934 save percentage. In Game 6, he allowed Edmonton’s first two shots on goal but saved the next 38 en route to a series-clinching win. Even if Brossoit had been available to them, the team would’ve likely kept Hill in the starter’s crease.
One option that could become available, though, is Logan Thompson, who led all Vegas netminders this year with 36 starts and 21 wins. Thompson has missed much of the last three months with a lower-body injury that was aggravated in March, but Cassidy’s comments today alluded to the possibility of Thompson becoming an option during this series. He didn’t explicitly state Thompson had returned to practice, however.
Thompson did perform well in his first season as an NHL starter and could’ve outlasted Edmonton Oilers counterpart Stuart Skinner for a Calder Trophy nomination had he not faced injury issues down the stretch. If his regular-season performance with the Golden Knights during this season and last is any indication, he’s a better backup option at this point in time than veteran Jonathan Quick, who Vegas has dressed on the bench in Brossoit’s absence.
Snapshots: Brossoit, Boedker, McCabe Trade Conditions
After helping the Vegas Golden Knights to a comfortable first-round series win over the Winnipeg Jets, the expectation was that Laurent Brossoit would be between the pipes for Vegas during their playoff run, their Stanley Cup hopes resting on his shoulders. Brossoit suffered a lower-body injury stopping an Edmonton Oilers scoring chance in Game Two of the second round, though, scuttling those plans. With Vegas now on the brink of qualifying once again for the Western Conference final, it does not seem as though Brossoit’s return is imminent.
As relayed by The Athletic’s Jesse Granger, Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy said that Brossoit wouldn’t be traveling with the team to Edmonton for Game Six. This has left Vegas in the hands of Adin Hill, who the team acquired from the San Jose Sharks over the summer in exchange for a fourth-round pick. While Hill is a capable goalie, one might presume that Vegas would feel more comfortable backstopped by the netminder who helped them win their series against Winnipeg. In any case, it’s looking as though Vegas will have to attempt to fend off Edmonton without Brossoit in their crease.
Some other notes from across the hockey world:
- The SHL’s HV71 announced today that Mikkel Boedker, a veteran of over 700 games in the NHL, would not be returning to the club for next season. It’s a disappointing if entirely unsurprising result for the 33-year-old, as he struggled in his return to Sweden’s top flight, a league he hasn’t played in since he skated in two contests for Frolunda HC way back in 2006-07. A former 50-point scorer in the NHL, Boedker managed just 11 points in 41 games for HV71 and could not help them make noise in the league standings as the team finished 11th. Now he’ll have to look for a new opportunity to continue his pro career, and perhaps a return to the Swiss league could be in the cards as he played for Lugano from 2020-2022.
- While the storylines involving the franchise’s general direction might draw more attention, Maple Leafs’ elimination last night also made some more minor news. One of the conditions of the Maple Leafs’ trade for Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty was finalized as McCabe played in more than 50% of Toronto’s playoff games. As a result, all McCabe must do is play in more than 25% of the Maple Leafs’ regular-season games next year, and Toronto will receive a 2025 fifth-round pick as part of the deal. Should McCabe play in less than 25% of games, the Maple Leafs will instead receive Chicago’s 2025 third-round pick.
Snapshots: Brossoit, Maggio, Marchment
Ben Gotz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal gave some updates from the head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights, Bruce Cassidy, this afternoon, mentioning that injured goaltender Laurent Brossoit will remain out for Game Five. Brossoit has been out since the team’s victory in Game Three during their second-round matchup against the Edmonton Oilers.
Although averaging some very solid numbers in limited regular season games this year, Brossoit has left a lot to be desired for Vegas so far in this year’s playoffs. In eight games played, he does have a very good record at 5-2-0 but is also carrying a .894 SV% and a GAA of 3.18. Working out well for the Golden Knights up to this point, it is hard to imagine overall success as the team gets deeper into the playoffs with those numbers.
Picking up for Brossoit after leaving Game Three early was netminder Adin Hill. Playing for nearly the last 50 minutes of Game Three, Hill stopped 24 of 24 shots, helping his team take the lead in the series. Unfortunately in Game Four, Hill did not impress as much, giving up four goals on 33 shots. With veteran goaltender Jonathan Quick still at their disposal, the Golden Knights will surely be looking for more consistent goaltending as they look to take back the series lead against the Oilers in Game Five.
Other snapshots:
- The OHL announced today that New York Islanders prospect, Matthew Maggio, has been awarded the Red Tilson Trophy, given annually to the OHL’s Most Outstanding Player. Earlier this month, the Islanders signed their 142nd overall pick from the 2022 NHL Draft to an entry-level contract. Although his team, the Windsor Spitfires, was eliminated in the first round by the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL playoffs, Maggio had an unbelievable season nonetheless. In 66 games played, the young forward scored 54 goals and 57 assists, helping his team secure first place in the Western Conference.
- Missing last night’s Game Five victory against the Seattle Kraken, Dallas Stars’ forward Mason Marchment will be available for Game Six according to Joey Hayden of Dallas Morning News. Although the team played well in his absence, Marchment would be a welcomed return as the Stars look to move on to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since the 2019-20 season. In 10 games played so far in this year’s playoffs, Marchment has scored three goals and provided two assists.
Vegas Golden Knights Goalie Laurent Brossoit Injured
Laurent Brossoit, the starting goaltender for the Vegas Golden Knights has left tonight’s Game 3 with an injury according to a team release.
The Vegas Golden Knights entered Game 3 of their second round playoff series with the Edmonton Oilers looking to bounce back from a lopsided loss. The Oilers dominated Game 2, storming out to a 4-0 lead after the opening period, and extending that to 5-0 midway through the second period. Brossoit was chased from the game after allowing five goals, and left Game 3 early as well but this time it was due to injury.
Brossoit sprawled across the crease to stop a Connor McDavid shot halfway through the first period and then stayed down on the ice. He was helped off the ice and clearly could not walk down the tunnel behind the bench under his own power. He was helped by trainers dealing with something that was obviously causing pain.
The team announced before the start of the second period that Brossoit’s night is over. He is out with a lower-body injury and is not going to return to Game 3. Adin Hill, who came on in relief in Game 2 would take over in the crease. Jonathan Quick is in the building as the team’s number three goaltender and will dress and serve as Hill’s backup for the remainder of the contest.
The Golden Knights have battled goaltending woes all season long. Robin Lehner is supposed to be the number one guy but he missed the entire season with injury. Logan Thompson took over the starter’s role early in the season but he is also now out with injury. Brossoit leaving tonight’s game now gives them three netminders out with injuries at the most crucial time of the season.
The Golden Knights have not released any details on what the injury actually is, other than to say it is a lower-body ailment.