I think you've been in denial this whole season by just how bad Swayman has been and easily pass the blame on to the team in front of him. Both have been awful but with Swayman, he is being paid like he's one of top goalies in the league after a much publicized holdout where he wanted to get paid as such. Hes been a disaster
Player Discussion Jeremy Swayman
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I think you've been in denial this whole season by just how bad Swayman has been and easily pass the blame on to the team in front of him. Both have been awful but with Swayman, he is being paid like he's one of top goalies in the league after a much publicized holdout where he wanted to get paid as such. Hes been a disaster
goldenblack
Registered User
- Mar 24, 2025
- 39
- 79
Imagine how fast we'd swap Sway for 10 years ago Rask?
As opposed to Swayman who focuses on himself too much. I have never disliked a Bruins goalie until now.
KrejciMVP
Registered User
Many goalies look good with a good defense..swayman is paid to be the guy
7 goals on 23 shots last game just not good enough for the so called saviour. When someone shoots at the net I just close my eyes and hope I do not hear a big cheer.
This season if I was an opponent, I would shoot anytime I see a path to the net as your chances are pretty good you could be successful. What a waste of Cap space that nobody would consider taking on via trade.
This season if I was an opponent, I would shoot anytime I see a path to the net as your chances are pretty good you could be successful. What a waste of Cap space that nobody would consider taking on via trade.
I'll just say it: I like Korpi better.
Bruin4
Registered User
BiteThisBurrows
Registered User
- Feb 11, 2022
- 892
- 1,850
Certainly a big factor but not all the blame.
Ultimately it might be a good thing. The fall has been coming one way or another. It's inevitable when you buy at the deadline every year and keep aging. So the big sell off might get us a quicker rebuild. Depends how well they draft and what other moves they make of course but they have repositioned quickly.
The big question will be try to rebuild right away or keep tanking for McKenna. Yes, we are in that conversation now.
A Jeremy Swayman turnaround is non-negotiable for the Bruins next year
By Fluto Shinzawa
90
March 25, 2025 8:00 am EDT
LOS ANGELES — Jeremy Swayman and the Boston Bruins were in good shape. They were tied 2-2 early in the second period Sunday against the Los Angeles Kings. Swayman had no chance at stopping first-period goals by Anze Kopitar and Warren Foegele.
After Quinton Byfield won an offensive-zone faceoff against Morgan Geekie and pulled the puck to Mikey Anderson at the left point, Swayman squared up to the defenseman’s 65-foot slap shot. Swayman dropped into his butterfly, stopped Anderson’s long-distance attempt with his left pad and directed the puck out of danger. It was a textbook save.
But instead of tracking the rebound promptly, Swayman took his time to spot the puck. When he found it, Drew Doughty was already winding up for an unscreened one-timer. Swayman slid from left to right and got up to make himself big. But by the time Swayman set his edges, Doughty had already struck the puck.
Doughty’s 30-foot shot sailed past Swayman for the deciding goal in the Kings’ 7-2 rout. According to Moneypuck, Doughty’s shot had a 6.5 percent chance of going in.
An even lower-percentage shot later in the period put the game out of reach.
As Adrian Kempe wheeled around Swayman’s net, the goalie dropped into reverse vertical-horizontal to seal his strong-side post. Swayman watched Kempe the whole time. He had the threat contained.
But as Kempe skated around the net, Andrei Kuzmenko made himself available at the right faceoff dot. The last time Swayman had shoulder-checked to scan his zone, Kempe was pursuing Jordan Spence’s dump-in. Kuzmenko had yet to cross the blue line.
So when Kempe passed to Kuzmenko, it was the first time Swayman spotted the LA forward as a shooting possibility. It was too late for Swayman to flare out his trail pad and get a piece of Kuzmenko’s far-side goal. Per Moneypuck, Kuzmenko’s sharp-angle shot had a 2.5 percent chance of going in.
Between Doughty’s and Kuzmenko’s goals, Swayman had challenged Darcy Kuemper to a fight for knocking off Marat Khusnutdinov’s helmet.
“It just comes down to sticking up for my teammates,” Swayman explained. “I don’t care who it is. It’s a guy in black and gold. You’re not going to touch him without being contested. I care about every one of these guys like a brother. That’s just the way I felt. I felt like it was my turn to step up.”
Neither teammate Nikita Zadorov nor interim coach Joe Sacco endorsed Swayman’s actions. They may have been outliers, but they were the only ones asked about the would-be fight.
But regardless of how the rest of the room felt about Swayman’s invitation, one thing was clear: Swayman did not stop enough pucks to give the Bruins a chance to win.
Sunday was not the only occurrence of that reality.
Jeremy Swayman looks back at the puck in the net in a recent game against Tampa Bay. (Eric Canha / Imagn Images)
“From top to bottom after that third goal, we just weren’t good enough across the board. Top to bottom,” Sacco answered when asked if Swayman was fighting the puck. “I understand in a situation where we have young guys coming in and the opportunity for them to see what they can do, we have some players that are fairly new now — they’ve been here a couple weeks now — it’s still not an excuse. We have to show more determination when we’re in a game like that. That’s a real good hockey team. You have to make sure you don’t stop playing in any situation. It’s a good lesson for a lot of us. You can’t stop playing at all. Because teams like that will make you pay.”
Swayman was playing behind an empty roster. Because of trades (Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Charlie Coyle, Trent Frederic, Justin Brazeau and Max Jones) and injuries (Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm and Mark Kastelic), 50 percent of the Game 1 skaters were not in uniform in Game 72. This does not make any goalie’s job easy.
Swayman has an .863 save percentage in six starts after the trade deadline. In comparison, Kuemper has a .971 post-deadline save percentage.
In 45 appearances before the deadline, Swayman had an .896 save percentage. In sum, Swayman is at .892. Of 35 goalies with 30 or more appearances, this places Swayman No. 31.
When it comes to goals saved above expectation, Swayman is No. 32 with minus-8.0. Connor Hellebuyck leads the league with 34.4 goals saved above expected. Swayman is the fourth-highest-paid goalie with an $8.25 million average annual value.
Goaltending has been a perennial position of strength for the organization. Before this season, since Don Sweeney became general manager in 2015, the team’s lowest save percentage was .905 in 2016-17 with Tuukka Rask, Anton Khudobin, Zane McIntyre and Malcolm Subban. Swayman and Linus Ullmark set a .931 high-water mark in 2022-23. Three seasons of sharing starts with Ullmark optimized Swayman for performance and cleared the path for his eight-year, $66 million contract.
Those days are over. Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo have combined for an .886 save percentage this year, higher than only five other clubs.
The 2024-25 Bruins have 10 games left. It’s a good 2025-26 launchpad for, among other things, David Pastrnak to make his case as the next captain, Casey Mittelstadt to settle in as a top-two center and Geekie to earn a big-bucks raise.
But perhaps the most important variable before the end is for Swayman to get a head start on righting everything that has gone wrong. The mandate for Swayman is simple: Just stop more pucks.
Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman challenged Darcy Kuemper to a goalie fight — it wasn’t endorsed
By Fluto Shinzawa
164
March 24, 2025Updated March 25, 2025 12:23 pm EDT
LOS ANGELES — In Sunday’s second period, from the other end of Crypto.com Arena, Jeremy Swayman saw Marat Khusnutdinov tumble into Darcy Kuemper. The Boston Bruins goalie didn’t appreciate what happened next.
Kuemper poked Khusnutdinov with his blocker. Then he put the forward in a headlock with enough force to pop off Khusnutdinov’s helmet. As Khusnutdinov skated out of the confrontation, Swayman skated to center ice and motioned to his Los Angeles Kings counterpart with his glove.
Kuemper obliged.
“He touched one of my guys,” Swayman said when asked why he challenged Kuemper. “That’s not something I’m going to accept. Kudos to him. He stepped up. It got broken up.”
Swayman ditched his stick and waggled off his blocker. He undid the strap on his glove and dropped his mask on the ice.
Kuemper kept his mask on but got rid of his stick, glove and blocker too. Just as it seemed like a goalie fight would happen, referee Graham Skilliter wrapped his arms around Swayman and pulled him away. Linesman Trent Knorr arrived to help Skilliter keep Swayman settled. Linesman Travis Toomey got his hands on Kuemper. The fight never happened.
“You hope so,” Swayman said when asked if he thought the officials would let them fight. “But it didn’t happen. So we just move forward.”
As a rule, hockey players like it when their teammates are defended. Nikita Zadorov, who knows all about the fighting code, did not give Swayman his endorsement.
“Is that what it is?” Zadorov answered when I asked if the Bruins appreciated Swayman’s sticking up for Khusnutdinov.
“Looked like it,” I said.
“OK,” Zadorov said. “I don’t know. No comment.”
Interim coach Joe Sacco also came up short of supporting Swayman’s actions.
“Are you OK with Jeremy challenging Kuemper?” I asked him.
“I just feel like tonight’s game was more about … there was some intensity involved in the game and in the period there,” the interim coach answered. “I just felt like we needed to be better as a team there in that situation, and the whole second period after that third goal.”
Zadorov’s and Sacco’s reactions might have been about the Bruins getting thumped 7-2. Swayman was in for all seven. He had a .696 save percentage.
“Everything goes in,” Zadorov said. “It’s embarrassing, obviously. How many times we get beat by these teams scoring six goals, seven goals on us this year? It’s definitely unacceptable. It’s not what we’re looking for. Not much to say after this one, for sure.”
The Bruins were losing 3-2 at the time of Swayman’s invitation. Drew Doughty had given the Kings the lead with a slap shot after Swayman’s kick out of a long-distance Mikey Anderson attempt. Then, with 2:22 remaining in the second, the Kings scored the backbreaker.
Adrian Kempe skated behind Swayman and spotted Andrei Kuzmenko at the right circle. Before Swayman could react, Kuzmenko slapped a sharp-angle shot past the goalie to give the Kings a 4-2 lead.
“I want to give this team a chance to win every night, and I haven’t done that the last two games,” Swayman said. “That’s something I’m going to work on. I’m not giving up. I’m keeping my chin up. I’m not getting the results right now. I owe these guys better. I owe a hell of a lot of people a lot better. That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
According to MoneyPuck, the Kings were expected to score 2.65 all-situations goals. Swayman did not get much help from his teammates.
“We’re just getting pushed around way too easy,” Zadorov said. “It’s a hard league to win — battles on the pucks, physical, in the corners. We’re getting stuck in our zone a little too long. Teams are getting momentum on those O-zone shifts on us when they close us in the zone for a while. Then they get goals. We’re giving up Grade-A’s left and right.”
(Photo of Jeremy Swayman, right, being held back from fighting the Kings’ Darcy Kuemper: William Liang / Associated Press)
According to Money Puck, for goalies that have played at least 20 games, Swayman is ranked 49th out of 56 in Goals Saved Above Expected with -8.0. Korpi is 35th out of 56 with -1.0. Mr. Moneybags has been a total dumpster fire this year. 
Are they piling on?
Yes they are.
Would I trade Jeremy Swayman given conceivably effective, inexpensive alternatives in DiPietro
en.wikipedia.org
and Bussi
en.wikipedia.org
waiting in the wings?
*In a trice.*
It is true Swayman is playing sans Boston's two best defenders and with, ah, limited help in front of him.
It is also true that save a game here or there, this has been a season to forget for an exceptionally talented franchise goaltender who has apparently become an unwanted distraction for Joe Sacco and Don Sweeney.
And I am not referring merely to the "goalie fight" foolishness.
Swayman may be a good person and when everything is in perfect equilibrium (50/50 Vezina Ullmark tandem, relatively light work load), a stellar goal keeper, but it appears he is bad for the room.
I have no idea if it is even possible for Sweeney to get creative, extract value back, and relieve himself and his club of a pricey contract and what may be a growing headache.
All of you experts out there who can answer the above question, please illuminate,
Yes they are.
Would I trade Jeremy Swayman given conceivably effective, inexpensive alternatives in DiPietro
Michael DiPietro - Wikipedia
and Bussi
Brandon Bussi - Wikipedia
waiting in the wings?
*In a trice.*
It is true Swayman is playing sans Boston's two best defenders and with, ah, limited help in front of him.
It is also true that save a game here or there, this has been a season to forget for an exceptionally talented franchise goaltender who has apparently become an unwanted distraction for Joe Sacco and Don Sweeney.
And I am not referring merely to the "goalie fight" foolishness.
Swayman may be a good person and when everything is in perfect equilibrium (50/50 Vezina Ullmark tandem, relatively light work load), a stellar goal keeper, but it appears he is bad for the room.
I have no idea if it is even possible for Sweeney to get creative, extract value back, and relieve himself and his club of a pricey contract and what may be a growing headache.
All of you experts out there who can answer the above question, please illuminate,
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goldenblack
Registered User
- Mar 24, 2025
- 39
- 79
At this point Sway is in historic bust territory. We gotta stop talking like anyone wants him. He's gotta play out of it here.
Dr Quincy
Registered User
- Jun 19, 2005
- 28,684
- 10,528
Irrelevant to how fans should feel about them. Both players used leverage to get what they want. Both are playing below what the team thought they'd be getting.
Swayman has the higher odds of bouncing back next year.
Dr Quincy
Registered User
- Jun 19, 2005
- 28,684
- 10,528
"Zadorov actually stood up for teammates".
Swayman challenged the guy that hit a teammate is "not actually standing up for teammates".
For realz?
Are they piling on?
Yes they are.
Would I trade Jeremy Swayman given conceivably effective, inexpensive alternatives in DiPietro
Michael DiPietro - Wikipedia
and Bussi
Brandon Bussi - Wikipedia
waiting in the wings?
*In a trice.*
It is true Swayman is playing sans Boston's two best defenders and with, ah, limited help in front of him.
It is also true that save a game here or there, this has been a season to forget for an exceptionally talented franchise goaltender who has apparently become an unwanted distraction for Joe Sacco and Don Sweeney.
And I am not referring merely to the "goalie fight" foolishness.
Swayman may be a good person and when everything is in perfect equilibrium (50/50 Vezina Ullmark tandem, relatively light work load), a stellar goal keeper, but it appears he is bad for the room.
I have no idea if it is even possible for Sweeney to get creative, extract value back, and relieve himself and his club of a pricey contract and what may be a growing headache.
All of you experts out there who can answer the above question, please illuminate,
The third video report is wrong... the no movement doesn't kick in until after next season.
A full no-movement clause activates in Year 3 (2026-27) and runs through Year 6.
Swayman has to get his act together.
It's 100 percent on him.
How he preforms and handles himself will dictate his future with the team.
It would not surprise me to see Sweeney cut bait at some point.
And yes, there will be teams that will take Swayman contract and all.
Sweeney will do what he feels is in the best interest of the team.
I will not be the least bit surprised if they move him draft day. He's a lightning rod on a team that just cleansed themselves and are retooling.
Don't think for a second that management is not furious with this guy. Don't think it would take much of a return from the Bruins perspective and with the cap going up this may be the best chance of moving him.
goldenblack
Registered User
- Mar 24, 2025
- 39
- 79
Are they piling on?
Yes they are.
Would I trade Jeremy Swayman given conceivably effective, inexpensive alternatives in DiPietro
Michael DiPietro - Wikipedia
and Bussi
Brandon Bussi - Wikipedia
waiting in the wings?
*In a trice.*
It is true Swayman is playing sans Boston's two best defenders and with, ah, limited help in front of him.
It is also true that save a game here or there, this has been a season to forget for an exceptionally talented franchise goaltender who has apparently become an unwanted distraction for Joe Sacco and Don Sweeney.
And I am not referring merely to the "goalie fight" foolishness.
Swayman may be a good person and when everything is in perfect equilibrium (50/50 Vezina Ullmark tandem, relatively light work load), a stellar goal keeper, but it appears he is bad for the room.
I have no idea if it is even possible for Sweeney to get creative, extract value back, and relieve himself and his club of a pricey contract and what may be a growing headache.
All of you experts out there who can answer the above question, please illuminate,
I think Sway is still tradeable, and the Bruins could do it without having to give up anything else. He posted 3 straight seasons with a SV% between .914 and .920 and a GAA at or under 2.5, and topped that off with a heroic .933 through 12 playoff games less than a year ago. This guy can play.
Most goalies go hot and cold. There have been long stretches when Bobrovsky looks awful, the ups and downs of Binnington are well known, even Vasilevskiy has his moments. But all 3 have been key factors in Cup wins. For sure Sway has less runs on the board than these guys, and the size and value of his contract would represent a risk for any interested team. But goalies capable of matching his best are not common. Would just need to find the right trading partner.
I think the problem is far more 'what do the Bruins do then?' Korpi is only a backup. The other guys in their system are entirely unproven. There are no really good goalies on the market. They would most likely need to take a chance on getting some average netminder and just hope he does a good job. But that's not the Bruins way. They've had, or at least tried to have, an exceptional starter for nigh on 20 years now. The team is built from the net out with a prioritization on solid defense. They go away from that and the whole philosophy of the team and Sweeney's methods of roster building will need to change. Which perhaps may not be a bad thing. But it will almost certainly carry some pain in the short term.
So I still much prefer sticking with Sway and hoping he comes good, and I still think he will. I am not sold on these locker room stories. However, IF they have substance and there is a genuine rift between him and the rest of the players, then that's where I think a trade does become an option, while it's still possible. If the disquiet and issues are bad enough, then you're looking at damage limitation. But it will hurt, and reduce the chances of successfully achieving a quick re-tool to an even lower level than they already are.
per Sweeney.
He's not going anywhere.
No GM is willingly looking at that contract and trading for it at the moment. Swayman is one of the worst starting goalies in the league as it stands statistically be it you think it's on him or not.
The only play the Bruins have is to just ride out this stinker of a season, come back fresh in September and hope Swayman doesn't suck ass when he has a full training camp and when the Bruins defense stabilizes with a returning McAvoy and Lindholm
And before someone says buyout;
No GM is willingly looking at that contract and trading for it at the moment. Swayman is one of the worst starting goalies in the league as it stands statistically be it you think it's on him or not.
The only play the Bruins have is to just ride out this stinker of a season, come back fresh in September and hope Swayman doesn't suck ass when he has a full training camp and when the Bruins defense stabilizes with a returning McAvoy and Lindholm
And before someone says buyout;
goldenblack
Registered User
- Mar 24, 2025
- 39
- 79
Good points all, per usual.
I would only add that Bob, and goaltenders like, say, Chris Osgood or the fourth string guy from Vegas who helped them win it all. There are many examples of clubs that win, and win the Cup, with okay goaltending.
It's certainly true that strong goaltending has always been a Boston Bruins hallmark.
However, look at where they are.
They are likely entering a multi-year retool, not limited to a single season next year.
In that case, there may be little to lose and much to gain by turning to DiPietro, Bussi, or both.
Given that the team will likely be better with a clean slate; a healthy #73 & #27; intriguing deadline additions like Mittelstadt, Khusnutdinov, prospect Fraser Minten, and Jokiharju (who appears to have a calming effect on Zadorov); and enough cap space to bring in significant scoring on the wings, going with two NHL untested prospects in DiPietro & Bussi would be a gamble.
But, again, given where they are, there's not much to lose next season.
It won't happen, but I'd like them to bring up both goaltenders for a game or two as this season winds down.
Doing so might be advantageous, for more than a few reasons. One of them being the introduction of competition and specter of possible replacement in Swayman's mind.
I realize he may become -- may -- a legitimate franchise goaltender worthy of his contract.
But he has yet to prove he can handle 65 or 70 games as a #1 NHL goaltender. His play, along with that of the team in front of him, regressed alarmingly in 2024-2025.
Add to this what I believe is an immature, self absorbed and possibly detrimental presence in the room, and trading Swayman (along with his hefty contract) should absolutely be an option going forward.
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goldenblack
Registered User
- Mar 24, 2025
- 39
- 79
Gordon, what in the heck can you drum up for a trade with a goalie with THAT contract and those numbers?
If you're the other GM, why in god's name do you risk that?
If you're the other GM, why in god's name do you risk that?
quietbruinfan
Salt and light
All I know is they are in a multi year and multi player rebuild with a goaler who is not well liked by management or a good portion of the room. (Sacco, Marchand and now Zadorov have all indicated such). I think with some retention, and perhaps a sweetener, he is tradeable before his no trade.
Since a good, or even great, goalie can come from anywhere, I am all for moving him before his no trade.
Since a good, or even great, goalie can come from anywhere, I am all for moving him before his no trade.
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