Extremely good. Next!
Famous last words, of course, but: I feel like this should be one of the easier ones to rate.
While one of the goalies, Linus Ullmark, has moved on to scenic Kanata, Ontario, the Bruins had few, if any, complaints between the pipes last season.
While Ullmark saw a step down from his Vezina-winning form, that’s hardly unexpected.
Neither goalie was able to match his 2022-2023 form, but again, you can’t be expected to break records every year.
The fact of the matter is that you really never entered a Bruins game last season with your primary concern being who was playing net.
If it was Ullmark, great, you had every chance to win. If it was Jeremy Swayman, great, you had every chance to win.
Not many teams around the league can have that level of confidence in both guys in a goalie tandem.
Bruins fans were spoiled over the past two years, and we’re likely to see that level of tandem confidence drop a bit this season.
Swayman will still split time, of course, as the B’s aren’t likely to adopt the Winnipeg approach of “play Connor Hellebuyck every single night.”
Instead, he’ll be splitting time with Joonas Korpisalo, who will look to rebuild his career after a tough stint in Ottawa.
Still, this isn’t about the future — it’s about the past, and both goalies were pretty great last season.
If you need a reminder, in the regular season:
- Swayman: 43 starts, 25-10-8, .916 save percentage, 2.53 GAA, 3 shutouts
- Ullmark: 39 starts, 22-10-7, .915 save percentage, 2.57 GAA, 2 shutouts
Swayman, you’ll remember, seized the reins in the playoffs, where he started 12 of 13 games and went 6-6-0 with a .933 save percentage and a 2.15 GAA.
Have your say!