The Bruins’ goalie picture shifted on July 1, and Trent Whitfield made it clear where he stands on Michael DiPietro.
Boston moved Joonas Korpisalo to the New York Rangers in a trade, clearing a path that had been blocked for DiPietro. The issue was always simple: if the Bruins wanted DiPietro in the NHL mix, Korpisalo had to go. With DiPietro needing to clear waivers to get back to the AHL, that was never a safe bet.
Whitfield, who has moved from assistant coach to head coach of the Providence Bruins, said he has no worries about the 2025-26 AHL standout.
"I have no concerns with Mike,” said Whitfield, per Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald. “He’s going to do a great job in the NHL.
He’s ready to go now. He’s outgrown the American League, and it’s time for him to take a job up there.”
That kind of backing matters, especially coming from the man now running Providence. DiPietro backed it up with a huge season for the P-Bruins, going 34-8-1 with a 1.91 goals-against average, a .930 save percentage and three shutouts. He followed that with a 2024-25 line of 26-8-4, a 2.05 GAA and a .927 SV%.
The Bruins also had a practical reason to make the move. DiPietro would have been the cheaper option behind Jeremy Swayman, and Boston didn’t want to risk losing another goalie for nothing after Brandon Bussi left in free agency and later won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes.
For a Bruins team that had questions to answer after being eliminated in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Buffalo Sabres in early May, the goaltending decision fits the larger roster reset facing general manager Don Sweeney. The club has trades to make, free agency to sort through and internal pieces to evaluate as it builds toward the 2026-27 roster for second-year coach Marco Sturm. DiPietro, by Whitfield’s account, is one of the easy calls.
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