Bruins 'undecided' on opening night goalie with Swayman back in fold
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After originally saying Joonas Korpisalo was on track to get the start in net for the Boston Bruins' season opener against the Florida Panthers Tuesday night, head coach Jim Montgomery took a different tune Monday.
"[Korpisalo is] a potential goalie tomorrow night,” Montgomery said. “We’re undecided.”
Korpisalo was the first goaltender off the ice at Tuesday's morning skate, though Montgomery maintained the starter would be a game-time decision.
The other option of course is Jeremy Swayman, who signed an eight-year, $66 million deal over the weekend. At the time when Montgomery tabbed Korpisalo as Tuesday's starter, Swayman and the Bruins were involved in a contract stalemate that had turned public and, at times, contentious.
The agreement comes a year after Swayman and the team went to arbitration and less than a week after Bruins president Cam Neely told the media he had "64 million reasons why I'd be playing right now," implying an offer totaling $64 million. Swayman's agent, Lewis Gross, denied that the team had offered that figure.
The 25-year-old missed the vast majority of training camp as negotiations dragged on and practised for the first time this season on Monday. Despite the lack of reps, Swayman said he feels ready go if called upon against the Panthers.
“I feel ready to play,” Swayman said. “I put myself in that position. I have had a great trainer over at BU during this training camp. I feel like I’ve put myself in a really good position to be ready to perform when I get my name called.”
Swayman also said he would love to get the start in the opener, but the decision is ultimately up to the coaching staff.
“It’s good to have him back,” teammate David Pastrnak said. “I’m sure it wasn’t an easy process for him missing out so much, so it’s good to have him back.”
Swayman traded starts with Linus Ullmark last season before taking over the team's net as their playoff starter. Ullmark was traded to the Ottawa Senators earlier off-season, paving the way for Swayman to take over the No. 1 role full-time. Korpisalo was part of the Bruins return in that deal.
Swayman had a 43-25-10 in the regular season with a 2.53 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage before going 6-6 in the postseason with a 2.15 GAA and a .933 save percentage.
Selected by the Bruins in the fourth round of the 2017 draft, Swayman has a career record of 79-33-15 with a .919 save percentage and a 2.34 GAA.
The Bruins finished the 2023-24 season at 47-20-15, falling to Florida in the second round of the postseason.