Goaltender Out Permanently for the Chicago Blackhawks

Laurent Brossoit’s contract, unfortunately, turned out to be a waste.

Two years ago, Kyle Davidson signed the former William M. Jennings Trophy winner from the Winnipeg Jets to a two-year deal. However, he couldn’t have predicted what followed. Brossoit required offseason knee surgery, which placed him on long-term injured reserve. Despite several “will he, won’t he” return moments last season, the Chicago Blackhawks have now officially announced that he will not be returning and has been placed on permanent long-term injured reserve.

---

The Good News From This Bad News

The positive side of all this is that Blackhawks rookie goaltender Arvid Söderblom has been given a shot at the NHL level. With mixed results, he has officially established himself as the backup goaltender for Chicago.

He first played behind Petr Mrázek, who was later traded along with Craig Smith for Joe Veleno, and is now backing up Spencer Knight, the goaltender acquired in the Seth Jones trade. Söderblom has appeared in 33 games, posting 10 wins and 18 losses, but has improved his analytical numbers from a .880 save percentage to a .898. For a young goalie, those are encouraging signs.

Arvid Soderblom Blackhawks” class=”wp-image-96373″/>

Overall, the Blackhawks and Kyle Davidson probably regret that the contract didn’t work out, but it has created a huge opportunity for Arvid. It will be interesting to see what the Blackhawks decide to do once Arvid’s contract is up in two years and Spencer Knight’s in four years.

Next: Breaking: Who Is Out and Who Is in On Goaltender Carter Hart?