Trade Incoming? Multiple Teams Need Goalies, Golden Knights Have 3

The Vegas Golden Knights have never been strangers to having interesting goalie storylines, from playing five goalies in year one, to the controversial Marc-Andre Fleury departure, to the current Robin Lehner injury. This season with Lehner injured, more goaltending storylines are on the way.

With Lehner out for the season and backup goaltender Laurent Brossoit also coming off hip surgery, general manager Kelly McCrimmon traded for San Jose Sharks goaltender Adin Hill in late August.

The tandem of Hill and Logan Thompson have shared the net for the Golden Knights so far and have been excellent. Combined, they are tied for the league lead in save percentage with a .930 sv%, and the Golden Knights are off to an 11-2 start. Thompson has played in eight games and Hill five.

Meanwhile, the traditional backup to Lehner, Laurent Brossoit, has been recovering from his hip injury. He was assigned to the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL on a conditioning stint on Monday.

Saturday night, he made his Silver Knight’s debut against the Mattias Janmark and the Bakersfield Condors. He stopped 20 of 25 shots in a 6-3 loss at home.

Goaltender Laurent Brossoit being introduced in the starting lineup for the first and (possibly) only time here at @TheDLCHenderson. #vegasborn @AHL_ITHSW pic.twitter.com/o5XvgjqSeD

— Pro Hockey West Report (@ProHockey_WEST) November 6, 2022

Inching towards a return, Brossoit will leave the Golden Knights with more goalies than typical teams carry. It’s possible for the Golden Knights to rotate all three goalies, but with the team already at the player limit of 23 skaters, they would need to send someone like Ben Hutton, Paul Cotter, or Jake Leschyshyn down to the Silver Knights.

Brossoit is coming off of injured reserve, not long-term injured reserve, which means the Golden Knights do not have to free up any cap space for his return. They will barely have enough cap space with just $16 remaining, but they can still manage Brossoit’s $2.325 million cap hit.

But there is one other option for the Golden Knights with Brossoit’s return, and that is to trade him. Technically speaking, they could trade any one of their three goaltenders. But based on the play of Hill and Thompson so far this season, Brossoit is likely the odd man out.

Lucky enough for the Golden Knights, there seem to be a lot of teams in need of goaltenders. Here are some options for the VGK, as they could potentially trade Brossoit for an average return and cap space.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Saturday night, Toronto Maple Leaf’s goaltender Ilya Samsonov left their game against the Boston Bruins with a knee injury. Projected starting goaltender Matt Murray is still recovering from an adductor injury.

This puts the Maple Leafs down to their third goaltender, Erik Kalgren, and newly signed goalie Keith Petruzzelli from the AHL. Toronto seems like the most likely option for Brossoit if he is indeed traded.

Boston Bruins

The 10-2 Boston Bruins are without Jeremy Swayman, who is week to week. This leaves the B’s with Linus Ullmark and Keith Kinkaid as their tandem.

Chicago Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks are not expected to contend for a playoff spot this season. Still, they are without goaltender Petr Mrazek, and Alex Stalock was recently shaken up thanks to Casey Cizikas.

The Blackhawks have Dylan Wells and Arvid Soderblom as other goaltenders in their system.

Minnesota Wild

Lastly, the tandem of Marc-Andre Fleury and Filip Gustafsson have simply not been working for the Minnesota Wild so far this season. Both have less than a .900 sv% as the Wild float around .500.