Injury Bug Hits Blackhawks Early As Top Offseason Acquisition Gets Knee Surgery

Just yesterday, when I was ranking the five biggest moves of the Blackhawks’ busy summer, I put the signing of new goaltender Laurent Brossoit right at the top of the list. While his signing was somewhat overshadowed by forwards like Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi, Brossoit has been the best backup goalie in the entire league for a few years now, and I projected him to share the net with Petr Mrazek in a more 50/50 capacity than just getting a few spot starts.

That is, until the news dropped yesterday that Brossoit underwent successful meniscus surgery on his right knee at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. When the Blackhawks broke the bad news, they said his expected full recovery timeline is five to seven weeks. For those who are now counting the days until the start of the regular season, five weeks from Wednesday is October 2. That means at the very least, Brossoit will be out for all of the preseason, which ends on the night of October 5.

The back end of Brossoit’s timeline falls on October 16, and Chicago is scheduled to play four regular-season games before then. That means it’s not the end of the world for the Blackhawks’ hopes of contention, but it does mean that we could see Arvid Soderblom once again suiting up for the first two weeks of the season in his place. If that’s the case, I would expect Mrazek to take at least the first few starts in a row. Additionally, Soderblom getting a few preseason starts with Brossoit out wouldn’t be the worst thing for his own development.

Even if Brossoit makes it back to the lineup in time for opening night, the news isn’t great for his ability to gel with a roster that he hasn’t played alongside yet. It’s important for a netminder, especially a new one, to develop on-ice communication with others, and just as crucial for the skaters in front of him to get to know his tendencies, like where he deposits rebounds and which angles he struggles from.

Even if the biggest addition of the summer somehow doesn’t miss regular-season games, the news is still rotten for the Blackhawks. Brossoit will face a steep learning curve with the Blackhawks’ roster and could very well miss significant time or be slow to fully recover. Still, the timing could be worse, and Chicago’s roster is still pretty much intact heading into the preseason.