Bruins’ Playoff Run Confirms Jeremy Swayman as No. 1 Goalie for the Future

Two significant questions loomed for the Boston Bruins as they entered the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Could young goalie Jeremy Swayman manage the demanding workload of a postseason extending beyond one round, and could he consistently perform at a high level?

Even though the Bruins’ pursuit of the Stanley Cup ended in disappointment with a Game 6 loss to the Florida Panthers in the second round, the answer to both questions was a resounding yes.

This clarity on the goalie situation makes the 2023-24 season a success, providing the Bruins with much-needed confidence moving forward.

“I think the whole year was an incredible year of growth,” Swayman said after Game 6. “Not only for myself, but for everyone on this team. That’s what I’m most proud of. These guys not taking no for an answer. We were doubted from the beginning, obviously losing huge pieces. Everyone stepped up and made a name for themselves. I would be a part of that a thousand times over if I could.”

Swayman struggled in the final five weeks of the regular season, ranking 41st in save percentage (.884) and 21st in GAA (2.87) after the March 8 trade deadline. He allowed three or more goals in 11 of his last 17 games.

However, his playoff performance was exceptional. Swayman played at an elite level, showing no signs of fatigue despite making a career-high 11 consecutive starts. Before the playoffs, he had never started more than six straight games.

“Jeremy Swayman was terrific. Night in, night out he gave us an opportunity to win by making sensational saves,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said after Game 6. “His competitiveness was something our players and our bench fed off of.”

Swayman was the Bruins’ standout player through two rounds, exhibiting the passion and confidence teams desire in their best players. Without his excellent play, the Bruins wouldn’t have survived the first round against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and their series against the Panthers would have ended even worse.

In the post-series handshake line, several members of the Panthers, including star forward Matthew Tkachuk and head coach Paul Maurice, gave Swayman a long embrace—a sign of respect for Boston’s netminder.

“(Swayman) got us to this point. He pretty much won us the Toronto series. Kept us in that,” Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk said after Game 6. “I know goalies feel like every mistake is a goal. But sometimes it’s not even a mistake. He covered for a lot of ours. That’s what guys were saying. ‘Just keep your head up, man. You’re a stud.’ He really took his game up in the playoffs. He should be proud of that.”

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Swayman finished the playoffs as the league’s top goaltender, ranking top five in nearly every category through his 12 games, including No. 1 in save percentage.

Now that Swayman has emerged as the clear No. 1 goalie, the Bruins need to find a way to keep him for many more years. He is set to become a restricted free agent this summer. A long-term deal with a salary cap hit around $6.5-8 million per season would be fair for both sides.

This would give Swayman a significant raise over the $3.475 million he earned in 2023-24 while providing the Bruins with many years of top-tier goaltending at a price that should become more team-friendly as the salary cap increases in future years.

Currently, only five goalies have a salary cap hit above $6.4 million for next season, according to CapFriendly. One of them, Carey Price, hasn’t played since 2022.

– Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens: $10.5 million
– Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers: $10 million
– Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning: $9.5 million
– Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets: $8.5 million
– Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders: $8.25 million

Bobrovsky has won the Vezina Trophy twice and has played in a Stanley Cup Final. Vasilevskiy is a two-time Cup champion and won the 2021 Conn Smythe Trophy. Hellebuyck is arguably the best goalie in the league right now and is expected to win his second Vezina Trophy next month. Sorokin has a .919 career save percentage and was the Vezina runner-up last season.

What does the future hold for Linus Ullmark?

It doesn’t make much sense for the Bruins to allocate over $10 million of cap space to the goaltender position. Ullmark has one more year left on his contract with a $5 million cap hit. If Swayman’s extension is $5 million or higher per season, the Bruins would be using at least 11% of the salary cap on goalies. That’s too much, especially for a team with several other roster needs, such as acquiring another top-six forward.

The ideal path for the Bruins is to find a trade for Ullmark this offseason. This move could give Ullmark a chance to play more elsewhere and provide the Bruins with some cap relief. Ullmark, who won the Vezina last season, is a very good goalie and would be an upgrade for several teams. It should be noted that, according to CapFriendly, Ullmark has a 16-team no-trade list in his contract.

Overall, the most positive outcome of the playoffs for the Bruins was Swayman proving he can be a franchise goalie during the most critical time of the season. Over the last 15 years, the Bruins have been fortunate to have elite goalies like Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask as the backbone of their roster.

Swayman is the next in line. At 25 years old, he’s already a top-10 goalie. Building around him, David Pastrnak, and Charlie McAvoy long term should help the Bruins remain a strong contender in the Eastern Conference for many more years.