Early in the 1999–2000 campaign, Lamothe got the call from the Blackhawks who needed him to suit up as Jocelyn Thibault's back up as in injury fill in for Steve Passmore.

He was able turn things around after this tough first game a week later, when he stopped 22 of 25 shots against the Boston Bruins and posted his first NHL victory.

[2][3][4] Despite having a strong showing in training camp, the Oilers elected to go with Jussi Markkanen to back up Tommy Salo, leaving Lamothe to play the entire season with Hamilton.

[5] Upon his arrival with the organization, he was assigned to the club's AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, to act as a mentor for the developing goaltender Joey MacDonald.

On 1 July 2003, the first day of NHL free agency, Lamothe was re-signed to another year-long contract with the Red Wings, and again began the season assigned to the Griffins with MacDonald.

However, as the season progressed, Dominik Hašek left the team due to injury while Curtis Joseph became injured as well, leaving the Red Wings to call up Lamothe to support Manny Legace.

The next morning, newspapers reported on Lamothe's story, where he spent 10 years almost exclusively in the minors before starting in net for one of hockey's most popular and successful teams.

[8] With a lack of form, Lamothe was relegated to backup goaltender and seldom used after 15 games; he was released by the Freezers and returned to North America on November 23, 2010.