When the Bruins open the 2025-26 NHL season, the spotlight is going to land right back on Jeremy Swayman.
Boston is coming off a year that left plenty of questions hanging over the roster after it finished tied for last place in the Eastern Conference with the Philadelphia Flyers. Then the Black and Gold turned things around and got back into the playoffs, with Swayman at the center of it.
That rebound matters even more because the season before it was a mess for the goalie from the start. Swayman missed training camp during a contract dispute and did not sign until just hours before the Bruins were set to fly to South Florida for the opener against the Florida Panthers.
No camp, no rhythm, and the numbers showed it. He finished 2024-25 at 22-29-7 with a career-high 3.11 goals-against average and an .892 save percentage.
That is not what anyone expected from Boston’s $8.25 million-a-year goaltender.
But last season changed the conversation. Swayman helped drive the Bruins back into the postseason, and if they want to do it again for a second straight year, they’ll need something close to that same level again.
NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin put it plainly in her Bruins season preview, calling Swayman the main reason Boston can make another run at a playoff berth.
"Much like last season, this probably mostly comes down to goalie Jeremy Swayman. His bounce-back season after a disappointing 2024-25 was the single biggest reason the Bruins ended up back in the playoffs. So, there's pressure on Swayman to replicate a season when he was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy after going 31-18-4 with a 2.71 goals-against average, .908 save percentage, and two shutouts,'' wrote Benjamin.
That’s the job description now. In the modern NHL, elite goaltending can carry a team the way a quarterback carries a football team, and Boston knows it.
The Bruins also made a move on July 1 that clarified the backup picture. General manager Don Sweeney traded Joonas Korpisalo to the New York Rangers, opening the door for Michael DiPietro to step in behind Swayman this season.
The reasoning was part cap management, part roster protection. If DiPietro had been put on waivers to head to the Providence Bruins in the AHL, he likely would not have gotten through and Boston would have lost him for nothing.
Swayman is not the only piece Boston needs to fall into place, though he may be the biggest one. The defense has to hold up in front of him, and the Bruins also need scoring from deeper in the lineup if they’re going to stay in the playoff mix.
For now, it starts next week at Warrior Ice Arena.
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