Boston Bruins fans are dealing with a little bit of angst at the moment, and it’s certainly justified.
Last season, they had Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman in net as arguably the NHL's top tandem.
Now, one of them is on another team, and the other isn't under contract with training camp approaching.
Indeed, the uncertain status of RFA star goalie Jeremy Swayman remains a key concern for the Bruins.
Related: Jeremy Swayman's Contract Talks With the Boston Bruins Take an Interesting Turn
But while worries abound regarding Swayman’s future, the fact GM Don Sweeney is handling it should be a comfort to B's fans. Sweeney has a solid history of being a problem-solver, so we expect he’ll find a way to make the Swayman situation work out for the best.
For instance, last season, Sweeney put together a team that missed veteran star centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, steering them to a second-round appearance. He then brought in Elias Lindholm to fill that hole. Sweeney has also engineered the Bruins to the playoffs in all nine seasons at the helm, including five second-round appearances.
Sweeney was named GM of the year in 2019, the same year the Bruins reached the Stanley Cup final. He has also led the Bruins to two Atlantic Division titles in the past five years and guided their 2022-23 squad to an NHL-best 65 wins and 135 points.
It’s true Boston hasn’t achieved its prime directive under Sweeney’s tenure as GM with a Stanley Cup championship. Sweeney hasn't been perfect, either – he lost all possible leverage in the negotiations with Swayman once he traded Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators and may have to sacrifice offensive and defensive depth to make room for their No. 1 goalie.
But the Bruins have come within one game of a Cup win in 2019, and they have given teams a run for their money no matter where they’ve finished in the regular seasons and playoffs despite the challenges that arose.
This latest challenge regarding Swayman might be Sweeney’s biggest yet.
If he can figure out how to make Swayman happy and keep Boston’s financial bottom line as flexible as possible, Sweeney will have hit a home run.
That said, there’s certainly an element of risk with the showdown between Sweeney and his top goalie.
If it doesn’t work out with Swayman before the start of the regular season, the Bruins will have gone from having him and Ullmark to Joonas Korpisalo and youngster Brandon Bussi in net until they can work something out.
Now, Bussi is highly regarded, so sure, you can argue there’s a timeline in which he makes the jump to the NHL and gives Boston good games at the NHL level in his rookie year. That could be a huge win for Sweeney and the Bruins, and maybe there is a world somewhere out there in which the Bruins move on from Swayman. But we still believe saner minds will prevail here, and Swayman will return to business as Boston’s No. 1 netminder before the regular season begins.
All things considered, Bruins fans are fortunate they’ve got Sweeney on the case. He’s shown himself capable of handling high-pressure situations. He’s come within a hair’s breadth of winning it all. And he will figure out this Swayman saga, one way or another, because it's his job.
Sweeney has earned the right to try to keep Boston competitive, so let's see whether he can pay Swayman what he's worth and keep the roster mostly intact.
