The Chicago Blackhawks have played former Oilers goalie Laurent Brossoit in waivers, meaning any one of 31 other NHL teams can grab the 32-year-old goalie on the last year of his $3.3 million per year contract.

Brossoit has been out of hockey for more than a year due to injury and hip surgery but just played three games for Chicago’s AHL team in Rockford, where he had a .900 save percentage.

Will Edmonton make a claim on Brossoit?

My take

1. It’s difficult to see how Edmonton would have the cap space for Brossoit’s full $3.3 million cap hit. This is a team that grudgingly had to move out veteran d-man Brett Kulak to bring in Tristan Jarry, after all. A waiver claim on Brossoit then seems unlikely.

2. But what if Brossoit clears waivers? Would Chicago be open to eating half his cap hit in return for an NHL player, prospect or pick? Utah did so with goalie Connor Ingram this year in order to give Ingram a new chance and for Edmonton to have the cap space to give Ingram that chance.

In late November, before the massive Jarry trade, Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman speculated about this possibility with Brossoit: “You’re going to ask Chicago to keep money if you’re the Oilers,” Friedman said. “But the thing about him is… he hasn’t been healthy, but he doesn’t really cost you anything to go do it, right, aside from a pick. It’s not a heavy cost like a guy like (Pittsburgh’s Tristan) Jarry would be, a heavier cost. So I’m wondering if that’s a guy who’s now on Edmonton’s radar.”

3. Ingram is struggling mightily in the AHL with an .856 save percentage in 11 games.

In 11 games in Edmonton, Calvin Pickard has just an .852 save percentage, though Pickard’s play is trending up. Montreal might well have scored eight or nine goals on Sunday against the Oilers if Pickard had not conjured up a Monster Chiller Horror Thriller of a standout performance, stopping no fewer than four clear Montreal breakaways.

Pickard also played well two playoffs in a row when Stuart Skinner came unglued in net. It may well be that Edmonton’s happy with incoming Tristan Jarry and thinks Pickard has turned a corner as well.

4. That said, what if Jarry gets hurt? Who would be Edmonton’s starting goalie. In Bako, Ingram is playing poorly and Matt Tomkins is a career AHL goalie. Would you really want to count on Pickard as your No. 1? Or would Brossoit be a better bet?

Of course, Brossoit is also a huge gamble, given his recent injury history. But between Brossoit and Ingram, if Edmonton were to have both around, would that not be decent insurance in case Jarry were to get injured?

5. It may not be enough of a clear cut case for Oilers GM Stan Bowman to move a small mountain to trade for Brossoit, should he clear waivers. I suspect at his contract price Brossoit will indeed clear, and I give it about a 25 per cent chance that Bowman would want and be able to work out a trade.

It could happen, but it’s unlikely to happen.

At the Cult of Hockey

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