Goaltender that must be successful: Jeremy Swayman
Coming into the season, after winning the Vezina Trophy, it’s a pretty safe assumption that Linus Ullmark will be the starting goaltender in net for the Bruins. While Ullmark’s success is preferred so that Boston can start on the right track, it’s not the most essential piece.
What the Bruins, and every hockey team should, need is a good backup. In the 2022-23 season, that person was Jeremy Swayman. Swayman didn’t just play the role of backup for when Ullmark needed days off, he even started games as a de-facto goalie 1A.
Much like the aforementioned DeBrusk, Swayman made a statement in less games than his career-high. Swayman set a career-high in wins (with a minimum of 30 games played) with 24, along with a goals against average of 2.27 and save percentage of .920.
Some netminders with these numbers are starters on lower-end clubs. Even so, if he only lost 10 games all season with six coming in regulation. If he had played more games, there is no doubt that Swayman could have eclipsed the 30-win mark.
If Swayman can be just as consistent, and give Ullmark a run for his money like he did last year, watch for Boston to be well set-up at the netminder position moving forward.