Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Laurent Brossoit (39) takes a drink during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche at T-Mobile Arena Wednesday, Feb.16, 2022.
Monday, Oct. 31, 2022 | 1:45 p.m.
Laurent Brossoit appears close to returning to game action.
The veteran goalie has been sent down to Henderson for a long-term injured reserve conditioning loan, the Golden Knights announced Monday, a sign that he could be back with the NHL club when Vegas returns from its five-game road trip.
Brossoit has been recovering from offseason hip surgery and has taken reps in practice but not enough live drills to be deemed ready to play.
The collective bargaining agreement says players on an LTIR loan can be on a stint for the longer part of either six days or three games. The Silver Knights play Friday and Saturday against Bakersfield, followed with a Tuesday home game against San Diego.
Silver Knights coach Manny Viveiros said he's awaiting directive from Henderson general manager Tim Speltz and Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon on whether Brossoit will play this weekend or just be with Henderson in a practice capacity while Vegas is away.
"The plan right now is he's here to practice, and we still have a few days before we play on Friday and Saturday," Viveiros said. "As of right now, he's practicing in some normal practice situations."
One way or another, the Golden Knights are about to get some clarity on their goalie situation.
Vegas has gotten off to an 8-2-0 start, the second best record in the NHL behind the Boston Bruins, thanks to near-to-perfect goaltending from Logan Thompson and Adin Hill. Thompson is fourth in the league with a 1.69 goals-against average, while Hill — whom Vegas acquired from San Jose in August as insurance for Brossoit not being ready for training camp — has won all four of his starts and sports a 1.72 GAA that's sixth-best in the NHL.
Coach Bruce Cassidy has not ruled out the possibility of carrying three goalies on the game day roster, but that would require putting Jake Leschyshyn, Paul Cotter or Ben Hutton on waivers, opening the door for a team to claim one of the three if that club is in need of depth at forward or defense.
"That's a conversation we'll have to have, and it won't be an easy one in terms of decision making," Cassidy said Thursday. "We are getting solid play from that position, but LB's the most experienced. I don't know how it's going to play out. We'll have to discuss that internally."
Brossoit is in the final year of a two-year, $4.65 million contract with the Golden Knights after playing the previous three years with the Winnipeg Jets. Playing as the backup to Robin Lehner, and eventually Thompson, Brossoit appeared in a career-high 24 games last season and finished 10-9-3 with an .895 save percentage and 2.90 goals-against average.
The 29-year-old last played March 15 at Winnipeg when he allowed four goals for the third time in four starts before being shut down for the season with that hip injury.
The Silver Knights are coming off a 4-2 win Saturday against the Colorado Eagles, just their second in eight games this season. Henderson goalies Jiri Patera (1-4-0, 3.04 GAA, .887 SV%) and Michael Hutchinson (1-2-0, 3.05 GAA, .880 SV%) have struggled to begin the year.
"Jiri and Hutch, they've been around the game long enough to understand if we get a player from the NHL team to come down and play, that's going to be priority, and they understand that," Viveiros said. "Being prepared for the unexpected is what we do sometimes. If LB is down here to practice, if he's down here to play some games, we're going to get him in here."
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
