Brossoit eager to 'push' Hellebuyck in return to Jets

Laurent Brossoit is eager to make his second stint with the Winnipeg Jets better than the first.

The 30-year-old goalie is back after he signed a one-year, $1.75 million contract Saturday with Winnipeg, where he played 54 games over three seasons (2018-21) as the backup to Connor Hellebuyck before signing with the Vegas Golden Knights as a free agent.

"From my own perspective, I see opportunity and I'm going to push 'Helley,'" Brossoit said Tuesday. "He's obviously the guy that's been trusted there for a long time and he's a good friend of mine. But I'm going to push him like I did when I was here last and hopefully we can both be better for it and have the strongest tandem in the League."

After winning the Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights, Brossoit is back as part of a revamped Jets roster that also includes forwards Alex Iafallo, Gabriel Vilardi, and Rasmus Kupari, who were acquired June 27 in the trade with the Los Angeles Kings for center Pierre-Luc Dubois.

"A bunch of the guys that I played with when I was there last all texted me and seem to be very happy that I've come back, and I'm happy to be back," Brossoit said. "I was there for three years, so there are a lot of teammates that I consider friends."

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Brossoit missed the final 15 games of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after he sustained a groin injury in the first period of Game 3 in the Western Conference Second Round against the Edmonton Oilers, another former team of his.

Vegas went on to win the Stanley Cup with Adin Hill in goal.

"I was part of a team that won the Stanley Cup, but definitely the way it shook out, it doesn't feel like that craving has been fully satisfied," Brossoit said. "Maybe partly and it was a great experience, but it definitely made me hungrier to be a bigger part of another Stanley Cup win."

Brossoit said he has recovered from the groin injury and will have a full offseason of preparation, unlike last year when he was recovering from hip surgery.

"It's not easy to get back to your full game shape midseason," Brossoit said. "It's easier to do that in the summer and maintain that all year. I've very excited to be able to do that this summer and come in strong. I even proved to myself how good I could be with a complete body, and so I'm really excited to see what I can do this year."

Brossoit had a trying season on the road to winning the Stanley Cup. Once recovered from the hip surgery, he was assigned to Henderson of the American Hockey League. Injuries to Logan Thompson and Hill opened the door for Brossoit's return to the NHL. He was named Vegas' starter for the playoffs after going 7-0-3 with a 2.17 goals-against average and .927 save percentage in 11 regular-season games. He went 5-2 with a 3.18 GAA and .894 save percentage in the playoffs before he was injured.

During his time with Winnipeg, Brossoit was 25-19-3 with a 2.75 GAA and .913 save percentage.

"When we signed him several years ago, I think a lot of people didn't know much about him," Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said Saturday. "I thought (assistant coach) Wade Flaherty did a great job in helping him grow. He went off to another situation for a period of time, but the opportunity to come back and work with Hellebuyck was something that appealed to 'LB' as well. I think they'll be a good tandem. LB has grown in the goaltending department and is a different goaltender than he was when he was here the first time, which is going to benefit our organization."

In the first round of the playoffs against the Jets, Brossoit helped the Golden Knights to a five-game series win, all while subject to chants from Winnipeg fans referring to him as a backup.

Brossoit was asked if he expected an apology from Jets fans now that he's returning.

"No apologies necessary, I love that part of the game; it was all in good fun," he said. "When that many people are chanting something relating to you, it fires you up and I can't see any player that would let it get under your skin and have a problem with it. I think if you're being chanted at like that, it's a good thing, whether it's a positive thing or a negative thing. I think it was funny, and water under the bridge for sure."