There has been so much talk about Jeremy Swayman being the Boston Bruins’ backbone. Anyone following the club can see why. Swayman’s performance last season was the single most important factor in leading the Bruins out of the funk that characterized their awful 2024-25 season.
That said, Swayman’s performance from last season should be enough to catapult him this season into the Vezina Trophy conversation. We’re not just talking about him getting consideration for the award. We’re talking about him shooting to the head of the pack.
Last season, the 27-year-old appeared in 55 games, posting a 2.71 GAA and a .908 SV%. The numbers aren’t exactly mind-blowing, but they should be, considering how the Bruins’ defense wasn’t exactly an iron curtain the entire season.
In fact, it was Swayman who bailed out the club on numerous occasions throughout the season. It was the games he stole every now and then that helped the Bruins make it to the postseason. And he almost stole the series from the Buffalo Sabres in the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
It’s worth pointing out that looking under the hood could very well reveal why Swayman should be a serious contender for the 2027 Vezina Trophy.
Underlying numbers make strong Vezina Trophy case for Jeremy Swayman
So, let’s look at a couple of underlying numbers for Swayman last season.
First, his Goal Saved Above Expected clocked in at 28.78. That’s a fantastic number, but how does it stack up? Well, last year’s winner, Andrey Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning, racked up 24.74 Goals Saved Above Expected. The Lightning netminder also notched 0.43 Goals Saved Above Expected per 60 minutes.
Swayman? That’s 0.53 per 60 minutes.
The numbers show that Swayman actually had a better overall season than Vasilevskiy. What tends to skew voters is when a veteran who seems over the hill re-emerges to have a strong season.
Unless he can at least replicate his numbers, it will be tough for him to unseat Swayman. You have to think that a strong season by the Bruins, followed by another solid season from Swayman, will mean his numbers should speak for themselves.
It will be hard for voters to ignore what Swayman does this season. In fact, he could turn into a sort of Zach Werenski. Werenski, last season, finally positioned himself in voters’ minds over the usual suspects like Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar in Norris Trophy voting.
Likewise, another season in 2026-27 by Swayman, like the one he had last year, could be enough to position him in voters’ minds ahead of everyone else in the field.
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