{"id":668959,"date":"2026-03-20T10:48:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T10:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/668959\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T10:48:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T10:48:19","slug":"san-jose-sharks-laurent-brossoit-enjoying-nhl-return-after-knee-surgeries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/668959\/","title":{"rendered":"San Jose Sharks’ Laurent Brossoit enjoying NHL return after knee surgeries"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN JOSE \u2013 Veteran goalie Laurent Brossoit isn\u2019t sure if or when he\u2019ll get another start<\/a> for the San Jose Sharks as they try to keep up in the race for one of the final few playoff spots<\/a> in the Western Conference.<\/p>\n

For now, Brossoit is simply glad to be getting another chance<\/a> to be in the NHL after an injury and subsequent surgeries<\/a> temporarily derailed his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter two knee surgeries and we still had no answers,\u201d Brossoit said, \u201cthere was a big part of me that thought my career was done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brossoit backed up starting goalie Alex Nedeljkovic for the Sharks\u2019 game against the Buffalo Sabres<\/a> at SAP Center on Thursday night and will likely stay with the team as long as injured rookie goalie Yaroslav Askarov remains unavailable.<\/p>\n

Askarov sustained a lower-body injury last Thursday prior to San Jose\u2019s game against the Boston Bruins. Brossoit, 32, was officially recalled by the Sharks from the Barracuda the next day and backed up Nedeljkovic in a 4-2 Sharks win<\/a> over the Montreal Canadiens last Saturday.<\/p>\n

Askarov and injured winger Igor Chernyshov (upper body) took a \u201cstep in the right direction\u201d on Thursday morning, Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said, as both skated at the team\u2019s practice facility. Still, it remains unclear when either player will be able to fully practice with the team and be available for a game. Chernyshov was injured in the early going<\/a> of Saturday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

The Sharks do not play on back-to-back days again until April 1 and 2<\/a>, when they host the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs. So Warsofsky can ride Nedeljkovic if Askarov does not return soon.<\/p>\n

The Sharks entered Thursday in 10th place in the Western Conference with 70 points, one point behind the Seattle Kraken for the second wild card spot.<\/p>\n

Brossoit, now in his 12th professional season<\/a>, no doubt would relish another opportunity to play after he allowed six goals on 23 shots in the Sharks\u2019 7-4 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Sunday. It was his first start since April 18, 2024, when he was with the Winnipeg Jets.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been pretty surreal,\u201d Brossoit said of being back in the NHL, where he holds a career record of 64-47-13 with a solid .910 save percentage. \u201cIt\u2019s been my fourth time having to re-make the NHL. It\u2019s like I never left in some ways. Then there\u2019s a lot of moments where I was like, \u2018It\u2019s been a while since I\u2019ve been here,\u2019 especially coming back to the Bell Centre was pretty special.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was my first day back. It just brought back a lot of memories, obviously, and it just made me appreciate being out here that much more. We have it so good, the lifestyle, the pace of play, and the intensity in the games, you just can\u2019t beat it. It\u2019s very motivating for me to make sure I stay here.\u201d<\/p>\n

In August 2024, after signing a two-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks, Brossoit underwent surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee and hoped to return in roughly six weeks. But the knee had trouble returning to full strength.<\/p>\n

Last summer, doctors examined his right hip and found that a cam lesion on the head of Brossoit\u2019s femur was causing the knee pain. After surgery to address the issue, Brossoit\u2019s health improved, and he played his first professional game on Dec. 5 with Rockford of the AHL.<\/p>\n

While Brossoit started to doubt whether he would be able to play again, \u201cthere was another side to me that thought it just didn\u2019t feel like it was that serious, and it was confusing, to have something that was thought of as so minor keep me out that long. Then, obviously, got some fresh eyes (on the knee) in the summer, and we found out that the hip was causing the knee problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cGot it fixed up, and now I\u2019m starting to feel good again,\u201d he said. \u201cIt just gives you a whole new appreciation for not just the game and the NHL, but just to be able to make money doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Jan. 8, the Sharks acquired Brossoit,\u00a0defenseman Nolan Allan, and a 2028 seventh-round selection for the contract of defenseman Ryan Ellis, AHL defenseman Jake Furlong, and a 2028 fourth-round selection.<\/p>\n

Brossoit went 11-2-1 with a .915 save percentage in his first 14 games with the Barracuda, which entered Thursday in third place in the AHL\u2019s Pacific Division.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was ecstatic,\u201d Brossoit said of the trade. \u201cObviously, Chicago had to do something once I wasn\u2019t able to get healthy in time for that season, so they went and got (Spencer Knight), so there wasn\u2019t a whole lot of space and plans for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brossoit is a pending unrestricted free agent and said he\u2019s open to returning to San Jose.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I can do is show well in practice, and if I get more opportunities in games, show well,\u201d Brossoit said. \u201cI\u2019d love to be here, but of course, the nature of the beast is I\u2019ve got to show off for anyone who would have me.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first choice, this place is pretty special, so I\u2019m going to work (hard) to try to get an opportunity here.\u201d<\/p>\n

KLINGBERG SCRATCHED<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two days after his miscue played a role in the Edmonton Oilers\u2019 game-winning goal against the Sharks on Tuesday, defenseman John Klingberg was a scratch for Thursday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

With the Sharks and Oilers tied 3-3, forward Max Jones scored a go-ahead goal 4:49 into the third period. Klingberg was below the goal line, perhaps expecting a pass from defense partner Dmitry Orlov, when Jones picked up a rebound and tucked a shot past Nedeljkovic for his second goal of the season.<\/p>\n

It was Klingberg\u2019s first healthy scratch since Feb. 2 when the Sharks played the Blackhawks.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got to be better,\u201d Warsofsky said of his message to Klingberg. \u201cThat\u2019s really it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other Sharks scratches on Thursday were forwards Philipp Kurashev and Ryan Reaves.<\/p>\n

NOTABLE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Center Ty Dellandrea joined the Sharks for Thursday\u2019s morning skate, wearing an orange non-contact jersey. Dellandrea has not played since Jan. 6 when he sustained a lower-body injury in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Dellandrea seemed to be skating well, but Warsofsky still classified the forward as being week-to-week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN JOSE \u2013 Veteran goalie Laurent Brossoit isn\u2019t sure if or when he\u2019ll get another start for the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":668960,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[42],"tags":[8665,1362,2765,1370,293,20909,1328,88138,62,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-668959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-hockey","tag-inside-sports","tag-keywee","tag-latest-headlines","tag-nhl","tag-pm-report","tag-san-jose-sharks","tag-sharks-alert","tag-sports","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116261113429398957","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=668959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/668960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=668959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=668959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=668959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}