Bruins say Jeremy Swayman could potentially start season-opener against Panthers
BOSTON -- The Bruins didn't expect to have Jeremy Swayman in net for opening night against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday. But now that Swayman is back with the team after signing his eight-year extension, there's a chance he'll be Boston's starting goaltender for the NHL's first game of the 2024-25 season.
Boston head coach Jim Montgomery said Monday that Swayman could potentially start for the Bruins against the Panthers. Montgomery has previously announced that Joonas Korpisalo would start the opener, but that was when Swayman's contract stalemate was still going on.
At this moment, Montgomery said the team is undecided on who will be in net Tuesday night.
Swayman signed an eight-year deal worth $8.25 million per season on Sunday and then traveled with the team to Florida. He was on the ice for practice on Monday, and Montgomery said he brought "great energy" to the ice.
"I thought that he elevated practice. I thought he looked sharp," said Montgomery.
Swayman said he felt "ready to play" following Monday's practice.
🎥 Jeremy Swayman following his first skate: "Great to be back. It's a breath of fresh air...I feel ready to play...great training over at BU during this training camp. I feel like I put myself in a really good position."
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) October 7, 2024
Watch more practice reaction ➡️ https://t.co/luGJUvDOXw pic.twitter.com/vjk8RDVWHk
Since Swayman stayed away from the team throughout training camp, Montgomery expected that the 25-year-old would need a few extra days to ramp things up before he was game-ready. But after seeing Swayman on the ice Monday, that may have changed.
That, or Montgomery is messing with the defending champion Panthers a little bit and keeping them guessing on Boston's starting netminder. We should know for certain after the Bruins' morning skate on Tuesday.
Bruins players made Swayman skate an extra lap at the end of Monday's practice, so maybe that was all the extra conditioning he needed. He hasn't played in game action since May 17, when Florida ended Boston's postseason run with a Game 6 win at TD Garden in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Swayman was 25-10-8 with a .916 save percentage and 2.53 goals-against-average over 44 games (43 starts) for Boston last season, when he split time with Linus Ullmark. He started 12 of Boston's 13 playoff games last year, and went 6-6 with a .966 save percentage and a 2.15 GAA.
Swayman will now be the No. 1 guy in net for the Bruins, and has expressed a desire to play 55 games this season. Korpisalo -- whom Boston acquired from the Ottawa Senators as part of a trade package for Ullmark -- will back him up.