The Bruins have already cleared one path on their goalie chart, and now Michael DiPietro looks like the next name in line.
Boston dealt Joonas Korpisalo to the New York Rangers this offseason, and while Jeremy Swayman is staying put, the backup picture for the 2026-27 season appears to be changing. DiPietro is the most likely candidate to slide into that spot.
He’s earned the look. DiPietro just wrapped a huge season with AHL Providence, going 34-8-1 with a 93.0 save percentage and a 1.91 goals against average. On top of that, he has taken home AHL Goalie of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons.
“Given how spectacularly DiPietro has played over the last two seasons with Providence, it is clear that he is a breakout candidate to watch for Boston next season,” Michael DeRosa of The Hockey News wrote on Saturday. “He has a golden opportunity to prove that he can be an NHL-caliber goaltender now that Korpisalo is gone.”
That doesn’t mean anything is being taken away from Swayman. If anything, the idea is that DiPietro giving the Bruins real support behind him would be a plus as Boston tries to keep moving forward.
“If DiPietro can be a solid backup to Jeremy Swayman, it would be good news for a Bruins club that will be looking to take another step forward next season,” DeRosa writes. “It will be interesting to see how much DiPietro can translate his wonderful AHL play to the NHL level from here.”
At this point, DiPietro has done just about everything he can do in the AHL. That may be part of why Boston moved Korpisalo - to create room for a goalie the organization seems to believe is ready for a shot.
Now the question shifts to the NHL level, where DiPietro will have to prove he belongs there for good.
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