Edmonton Oilers: Laurent Brossoit Deserves More Responsibility

While Cam Talbot has taken his place as the Edmonton Oilers starter and one of the top netminders in the NHL, his workload can get excessive.

Last season, Talbot led all goaltenders with 73 games played, as well as 42 wins on the year. All the while, Laurent Brossoit competed with Jonas Gustavsson, and thanks to his clutch performances and ability, he won the role of the team’s permanent back-up last year.

This season, the 24-year-old goaltender will be looking to start more games and take on a bigger role with the team. And as Edmonton looks to stay consistent coming off one of their best seasons back in 2016-17, they should trust him to take on more responsibility, which also translates to giving him more starts this season.

Edmonton Oilers

First off, Brossoit has proven his worth when it comes to standing tall in goal. Last season, he played in eight games with Edmonton, starting four and boasting a 4-1 record, as well as a 1.99 goals-against-average and .928 save percentage. He managed to come up big not only when given the opportunity to start in goal, but also when he would take over in relief of Talbot.

This was also evident in the Oilers’ 3-1 loss to Vancouver Saturday; after Talbot allowed three goals on seven shots, Brossoit entered the game and was sensational in goal, shutting down the Canucks’ offence and stopping all 19 shots he faced.

Over the last few seasons, the 6-foot-3, 204-pound goaltender has taken the steps to improve in a lot of key areas. He appears quicker and more confident between the pipes, and no longer struggles with surrendering soft goals. Because of this, he has earned the right to start a few more games for Edmonton moving forward.

In addition, while Talbot has no problem taking on over 70 games per season, that is an excessive workload for a goaltender, and he may benefit from more breaks. Therefore, giving Brossoit that ice time would also help him and give the Oilers’ starter more rest.Overall, the Oilers have a talented up-and-coming netminder in the British Columbia native, and he will likely see more ice time this season.

Next: Edmonton Oilers: Slepyshev to Return Monday

Overall, Edmonton has a talented up-and-coming netminder in the British Columbia native, and he will likely see more ice time this season.