Laurent Brossoit will make his first NHL regular-season start in almost two years Sunday when the San Jose Sharks face the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on the fourth stop of a five-game road trip.
Brossoit was recalled by the Sharks from the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL on Friday after Yaroslav Askarov was injured the day before as he warmed up prior to the team’s morning skate in Boston. Askarov is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
The Sharks improved to 2-1-0 on the road trip after their 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. Macklin Celebrini and Collin Graf each had three points in the win as the Sharks entered Sunday in the Western Conference’s second wild card spot with 70 points, one more than the Los Angeles Kings and Seattle Kraken.
The Sharks will use one of their two games in hand on the Kings and their one on the Kraken against the Senators, who are 6-2-1 in their last nine games and are five points out of a playoff spot.
Brossoit’s last NHL start in a regular-season game came on April 18, 2024, when he made 18 saves to help lead the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.
In Aug. 2024, Brossoit had what he thought was going to be routine surgery to repair the meniscus in his right knee, with the expectation that he would be back to full health roughly six weeks later. But the knee never improved enough for him to play in a game, and it got to the point — after meeting with several specialists — that Brossoit thought he might not play again.
Last summer, Brossoit and doctors, after examining his right hip, found the root cause of the knee pain — a cam lesion on the head of his femur that was causing issues with cartilage inside the joint. Brossoit suspected this could be the issue after he had previously had problems with his left hip, which had caused back pain.
After surgery to address the cam lesion, Brossoit worked his way back and played his first game since that start for the Jets on Dec. 5 when Rockford hosted the Colorado Eagles.
On Jan. 8, the Sharks acquired Brossoit, defenseman 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.
Brossoit, who turns 33 next week, has played in 140 NHL games, most recently during the 2023-24 season when he appeared in 23 games with the Jets.
Brossoit won a Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2022-23, and has a record of 64-46-13 record and a .911 save percentage in stints with the Edmonton Oilers, Jets, and the Golden Knights. During the 2023 playoffs, Brossoit appeared in eight games, posting a .894 save percentage and a 5-2 record.
It was not immediately known when Askarov would be healthy enough to play again. The Sharks play Tuesday in Edmonton, then return home to face the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday and the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.
CHERNYSHOV UPDATE
Sharks forward Igor Chernyshov will not play Sunday after he sustained an upper-body injury the previous night against the Montreal Canadiens.
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said Pavol Regenda will take Chernyshov’s spot in the lineup.
Chernyshov had just taken a pass in the neutral zone early in the first period when he was checked by Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson, who briefly put his right arm around the Sharks winger to try to slow him down. Chernyshov then spun around and landed awkwardly on the ice before he slid face down for several feet.
During the game, Chernyshov was taken to a local hospital for evaluation, then rejoined the Sharks at the arena and traveled with the team to Ottawa late Saturday night.