✍️We have signed goalie Laurent Brossoit to a two-year contract!!!
WELCOME TO LAS VEGAS, LAURENT!!!! pic.twitter.com/0uX3Cq38ED
— x-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) July 28, 2021
The Las Vegas Golden Knights traded Marc-Andre Fleury to the Chicago Blackhawks during the offseason, ending a powerful run in the process.
The void left by Fleury will be filled by Laurent Brossoit, who’s a bit of a journeyman. Between playing in six different leagues and levels throughout his 13-year career and showing average numbers at best, he’s a mixed bag for the Knights.
Looking at Brossoit’s stats, he has 32 wins, 32 losses, 4,329 minutes, 204 goals allowed, two shutouts, and a 2.83 goals-allowed average. He also has a save average of .908, which is a pretty impressive number. However, the problem is that he is a huge downgrade from the unstoppable force that was Marc-Andre Fleury.
Still, the blue line of Alec Martinez and Alex Pietrangelo is returning from an injury-plagued 2020 season, which may just cut down on the work required from Brossoit. The big question will come in the playoffs when Brossoit is forced to back up Robin Lehner against some of the best teams in the NHL.
Numbers for the new Golden Knights players:
21 Brett Howden
39 Laurent Brossoit
41 Nolan Patrick
63 Evgenii Dadonov#VegasBorn— Justin Emerson (@J15Emerson) September 22, 2021
According to Arctic Ice Hockey: “Brossoit was a solid player for the Jets and never made too much for his job… His role was always the supporter who had to be ready at any given moment and he was. He was consistently able to fill in for Hellebuyck and give him a rest.”
In the end, Brossoit is not Marc-Andre Fleury. He is a run-of-the-mill goalie that could improve to be a reliable backup under Lehner. The question is whether Lehner can go injury-free and put up good numbers of his own. While he is still one of the best goalies in the league, his star power has diminished with Fleury’s loss. L
