Boston Bruins Make Controversial Opening Night Goalie Decision After Locking Up Jeremy Swayman

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Tom Banks
October 8, 2024 (4:13 PM)

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Jeremy Swayman has finally been locked up by the Boston Bruins, but even so, it appears they aren't turning to him on opening night.

The past month in Boston has been full of back-and-forth drama, particularly between General Manager Don Sweeney and the representation of Jeremy Swayman. Despite their potential differences, the two parties finally came together in recent days however, locking the 25-year old Swayman into an eight-year deal worth $8.25 million per season.

Despite their agreement however, it appears the deal got done a little too late to get him into the net for opening night, with a new report revealing that Joonas Korpisalo will be leading the way for Boston as they look to take down the defending Stanley Cup Champions in game one.

That is however, if the game goes ahead, as recent speculation has revealed that due to incoming Hurricane Milton, the NHL and Gary Bettman could potentially postpone this game for the safety of the players, coaching staff and fans that would attend the game.

If it does go ahead, the team are sticking with the plan of Korpisalo in net, and while there's a lot worse options out there as a backup goaltender, the 30-year old was very poor a season ago in Ottawa, tallying just an .890 save percentage in 55 games played. Given that the deal with Swayman got done several days ago, he will likely be good to go in the very near future, but with negotiations lasting all the way until October, he just won't be ready for the season, with the team relying on the veteran Korpisalo until that point.

With Swayman in net, the team are confident they can go deep in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but if for some reason they need to turn to Korpisalo for an extended time, that optimism drops, so we will see if he can make the right first impression on Tuesday night.