There were a lot of decisions that faced the Boston Bruins and their general manager back in June before free agency opened. One of them was in goal, and who was going to battle Joonas Korpisalo to be Jeremy Swayman's backup in 2025-26?
Before free agency began, Kevin Weekes of ESPN reported that if Michael DiPietro hit free agency, there were teams that would have interest in signing him. Sweeney ended up signing him, which made the decision clear as to what was going to happen with their other young goalie, Brandon Bussi.
When the Bruins let him walk, he signed with the Florida Panthers in free agency. He was placed on waivers at the end of camp and was picked up by the Carolina Hurricanes. Signed by the Black and Gold out of Western Michigan as an undrafted free agent. He got an early start in the season on Tuesday night and made the most of it.
Former Bruins prospect earns first NHL win
Bussi got the start by head coach Rod Brind'Amour and made the most of his NHL debut. He stopped 16 shots of the 17 that the San Jose Sharks fired at him in a 5-1 victory in Northern California. According to the Hurricanes, he was the 10th netminder in franchise history to win his NHL debut while playing for the club, and the first since Pyotr Kochetkov did so on April 23, 2022.
“Special,'' said Bussi. "You work hard to get to moments like this, and you don’t know if it’s ever going to happen. Great effort by the team today, they made my job easy.”
Bussi had a strong 2023-24 season with the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL) before DiPietro had a strong season last season. That set the wheels in motion for Sweeney to choose DiPietro and let Bussi walk. It wouldn't be surprising to see him pick up more wins this season for Carolina.