When free agency opened on July 1, some Boston Bruins prospects were on the move after general manager Don Sweeney decided not to bring some back. One of those was goalie Brandon Bussi. The former undrafted free agent out of Western Michigan signed with the Florida Panthers.
At the end of training camp, Florida placed him on waivers and he was quickly scooped up by the Carolina Hurricanes. That proved to be a good decision after they had been hit with injuries. That move by the Hurricanes is turning out to be a great move.
Former Bruins prospect Brandon Bussi thriving in Carolina
On Sunday night, Bussi recorded his first shutout of the season with 15 saves in a 1-0 overtime win over the Calgary Flames. It's not like the Hurricanes peppered the Calgary net, as they had only 17 shots themselves. However, Bussi was up to the challenge for his first career Carolina shutout.
“Obviously, I appreciate it, so I don’t want to understate that. It is cool,” Bussi said. “Anytime you hear your name being chanted by the crowd, it’s really cool. But the most important thing is what’s going on in this room, how we’re playing night in and night out."
Bussi has been nothing short of sensational for coach Rod Brind'Amour and his new team. He is 7-1-0 with a 2.11 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.
“(Bussi) has been great for us,” Rod Brind’Amour said. “He’s come up with timely saves. It’s not like we’ve been leaving him out to dry and giving up 40 shots a night, but there’s a breakaway here or there and those are huge moments in tight games. Every game you could almost say the same story."
Bussi was a rising prospect in the Boston organization with the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL). He had an All-Star season a couple of years ago, but with Michael DiPietro having a breakout season, Sweeney made his decision to bring DiPietro back and let Bussi walk.
The Bruins have a duo in the AHL, DiPietro and Šimon Zajíček, backboning a great start to the season, and time will tell if Sweeney made the right decision, but Bussi is taking advantage at his new home and running with it.