One dream, one realistic, and one bargain player the Bruins must target in NHL free agency

Bargain Free Agent: Laurent Brossoit, G/Winnipeg Jets

This one is based on what the Bruins decide to do with Linus Ullmark, so it would only be an idea in the event of a trade. While I also like Anthony Stolarz or even Ilya Samsonov here, Laurent Brossoit would be an ideal bargain free agent should Don Sweeney believe Jeremy Swayman is ready to start roughly two-thirds of the Bruins games in 2024-25. 

This past season saw Swayman snag career-highs in starts and appearances, which sat at 44. If that were again the case this upcoming season and Linus Ullmark was traded, Brossoit wouldn’t be a great choice. Instead, someone like Samsonov would make far more sense. 

But if the Bruins can see Swyaman making 50-plus starts, now we can start talking more about the possibility of bringing in someone like Brossoit. No, he hasn’t seen between 30 and 32 appearances in any season of his career. But let’s also remember that defensively, Boston isn’t too far behind Brossoit’s team in 2023-24, the Winnipeg Jets, creating an ideal landscape for the career backup. 

Brossoit’s best outings came over the past two seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights and Winnipeg Jets, so if he gave a team with similar strengths a year or two as the No. 2 goaltender, we should see similar results. 

We’re all keeping a close eye on what the Bruins will decide to do with Ullmark, and Brossoit is just one of a few options to fill the gap if Ullmark goes. But if Boston moved Ullmark, believed Swayman could be ‘the guy’ moving forward, and didn’t feel the need to invest a lot of cap space into a true No. 2 goaltender, Brossoit would be a perfect fit. 

(Statistics powered by Hockey-Reference)