What a wild ride for Jeremy Swayman.
The Bruins goaltender was sent down to the AHL in January. By the end of February, he had been named NHL Rookie of the Month.
Now, Boston fans are left to wonder what the 23-year-old rookie will do for an encore. He is 7-0-1 in his last seven starts, posting a near 97 percent shots-saved mark.
Although he was disappointed with the situation of having to go down to make room for Tuukka Rask on the NHL roster, Swayman didn’t pout. His entry-level contract and waiver-exempt status made it Boston’s only viable option, and he knew it was likely to happen once Boston’s franchise leader in net was cleared to return. He went 3-2 in his five AHL starts over two weeks.
When Rask’s surgically-repaired hip wasn’t able to hold up and he subsequently retired, Swayman was immediately brought back up. He has been on fire since.
Why Swayman is Boston’s future No. 1
Since playing his first NHL game in the spring of 2021, Boston’s fourth-round pick from 2017 has put up outstanding numbers with the Bruins. He won 21 of his first 35 total contests, with a 21-10-3 overall record, 1.82 goals against average and .934 save percentage with five shutouts. His production is comparable to another rising NHL star in net, 26-year-old Igor Shesterkin of the N.Y. Rangers, who has gone 53-22-6, with a 2.31 GAA and .930 save percentage in his first 83 big league games.
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Although he has stiff competition in Calder Trophy consideration from Detroit teammates Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond, along with Anaheim center Trevor Zegras, Swayman's overall numbers and recent hot streak have put him in position to be a finalist for the league's top rookie award.
The immediate temptation for Boston fans might be to question that with Swayman on hand, why Don Sweeney signed veteran free agent Linus Ullmark in the offseason to a four-year contract worth $5 million per season. It’s a short-sighted argument that conveniently omits that Swayman’s tremendous play since he returned from the AHL was not a guarantee. With Rask's status uncertain then, Sweeney could not afford to gamble on a successful season for his veteran team with a promising, but inexperienced goaltending duo in Swayman and Daniel Vladar. The latter was traded to Calgary for a 2022 third-round draft choice.
Aside from Rask's brief return, there has been a pretty even timeshare since the start of the season.
An in-his-prime Ullmark at age 28 has given Boston an important asset. Given Ullmark’s impressive play on a bad Buffalo Sabres team, it was a smarter strategy to make a modest investment in a productive, seasoned netminder who could provide the B’s with an immediate No. 1 without Swayman being under pressure to handle lofty expectations. If Rask had been able to return and reach his previous form, he and Ullmark would give Boston a top duo with Swayman as a quality backup plan who could become a regular in another one or two seasons. That was how the Bruins handled Rask’s development from 2006-09. So it made sense to treat the former University of Maine star and Hockey East MVP the same way, with a slow, steady progression from AHL to NHL.
Swayman has blown that plan up.
From a technical standpoint, he has no flaws. He plays big in the net, tracks pucks with a laser focus, reads the play in front of him, and senses the biggest threats to score are at any given time. He directs rebounds out of danger, and is able to swallow up shots to get whistles to relieve pressure at the right times. That's a recipe for success at any level, and Swayman’s NHL numbers bear that out.
Swayman has other intangibles: competitive spirit, team-first attitude and a strong work ethic. He’s also savvy at situational hockey: when Jack Eichel (North Chelmsford, Mass.) beat Erik Haula in a footrace Thursday night against Vegas and muffed a shot that squeaked through Swayman’s pads to narrow a 2-1 Bruins lead late in the second period, Boston’s goalie tightened up in a game the Bruins won 5-2. That showed a player with the mental toughness to inspire his team in front of him.
So Swayman has all the makings of a long-term, quality starter in the NHL.
Swayman and Ullmark both provide important value
That’s not to say that Ullmark has been substandard in Boston.
For a time, he carried the play in net during January, when Rask was up and down in his limited stint, and even before, when Swayman was still trying to find his game along with the rest of his mates. Ullmark’s GAA (2.80) and save percentage (.908) aren’t anywhere near as high as his young partner’s numbers, but his 17 wins are the most important statistic of all. Ullmark has done his job.
The two had 31 wins in their first 53 games. If salary cap-obsessed observers remember nothing else, then consider this: you need two good goaltenders to win consistently in the NHL. Ullmark and Swayman form a strong tandem, but the latter looks like the team’s future in net at age 23.
One of the most important things for any NHL GM is to have flexibility. Sweeney did that by signing Ullmark to a mid-term contract at a reasonable rate. He was banking on the ability to move him if needed and Swayman accelerated his own usage plan. The Bruins need both goalies. To their credit, the duo has supported each other and visibly rooted for the other’s success. Their post-win ritual and embrace underscores that respect, and makes clear there is a genuine bond between them. In the hypercompetitive world of professional sports, that’s a rarity.
Should Sweeney feel like at some point he has to move Ullmark, that will be an option. Per the CapFriendly website, his contract carries a full no-movement clause in the first two seasons, then a modified no-trade (16 and 15-team no-trade lists) in 2023-25. Of course, if a player wants a better opportunity to play more minutes elsewhere, they can always waive the NMC. However, with no other top young prospect currently in Boston’s system, it makes no sense to even discuss a trade, as Boston is getting its money’s worth from the $5.925 million the team is spending on both.
No matter how well Swayman plays, the B’s will need Ullmark this season.
The rest of the roster management roadmap can be figured out later, but with the most critical position now stabilized in the wake of what could have been a disaster when Rask suddenly announced his retirement, Sweeney has options to try and upgrade the team in other areas. What he will do and how he does it is going to be the top area to watch entering the two-week window until the trade deadline this month. For now, goaltending is the least of Boston’s worries.
