Taking stock of Bruins goaltending duo with Jeremy Swayman, Linus Ullmark

BOSTON -- After his Vezina-winning season last year, it was fair to wonder if Linus Ullmark had reached his professional peak. At the very least, it would be ambitious to believe he could replicate his .938 save percentage, 1.89 goals-against average for a second straight year.

And though the Bruins are only a dozen games into their 2023-24 campaign, that concern appears to be well-founded. Ullmark has won four of his six starts, but his .926 save percentage and 2.30 GAA are closer to his career numbers than last year's outlier.

That's hardly a problem, as Ullmark ranks sixth in the NHL in GAA and fifth in save percentage among goalies with at least six starts this season.

But it's really not a problem because running mate Jeremy Swayman has taken on the mantle as the team's Vezina-caliber goaltender this year.

Swayman, now in his third full NHL season, ranks second in even-strength save percentage (.945, to Thatcher Demko's .956), and he leads the league with a .971 power-play save percentage, having allowed just one goal on 33 shots when the Bruins have been down a man. Among goalies with at least six starts, he ranks third in high-danger save percentage at .925 (per Natural Stat Trick).

That's all a roundabout way of saying that at 24 years old, Swayman is coming into his own. And he's -- at least for now -- looked like the 1A to Ullmark's 1B, a role reversal from last year.

In some ways, it's a continuation of last year, when the Bruins had the unique luxury of having two starter-caliber netminders at their disposal every night of the season. That was a significant driver in the team setting regular-season records with 65 wins and 135 points.

At the same time, the goalie tandem proved less-than-helpful in the playoffs, when head coach Jim Montgomery opted to go with Ullmark as a traditional No. 1 when the postseason began. Ullmark started the first six games of Boston's first-round series against Florida, going 3-3 with an .896 save percentage and 3.33 GAA. Montgomery made a switch for Game 7, and with Swayman starting his first game in 17 days, he allowed four goals in the overtime loss that ended the Bruins' postseason run before it could even begin.

In the wake of that, some trade speculation hovered over Ullmark in the offseason, even after he won the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender. Clearly, nothing really materialized on that front.

Now in the midst of the season, rumors are again percolating, with various people throwing around the idea of the Oilers trading for Ullmark. The 30-year-old would certainly be a desirable addition for any team seeking a starting goaltender, especially on his $5 million cap hit. But he also has a 16-team no-trade list, so he'd have to waive that to enable any trade to a team on his list.

And that ... doesn't feel like a particularly likely outcome. From Ullmark's standpoint, he's been happy in Boston and has worked extremely well with Swayman in their unique situation. In the cut-throat world of professional sports, Ullmark and Swayman have genuinely supported each other and celebrated each other's accomplishments. The famed postgame goalie hug may have lost its novelty or spontaneity, but it originated from a genuine place.

If that relationship wasn't working, then it would make sense for the Bruins to explore a trade of Ullmark to preserve the locker room. Yet with the Bruins being the only NHL team allowing fewer than two goals per game and leading the Eastern Conference with a 10-1-1 record, and with the Swayman-Ullmark tandem still being manageable with a combined cap hit of $8.475 million, there really shouldn't be a desire from Boston's standpoint to make a change just for the sake of making a change. Things are going quite well, and short of a jaw-dropping trade offer that will change the Bruins' franchise for years to come, the Bruins shouldn't -- and likely won't -- entertain much in the way of trade calls on either of their goalies.

The question remains, though, what Montgomery will do come April. The point was hammered home last year that the regular season is, by and large, meaningless once the playoffs begin. And going with Ullmark as the No. 1 goaltender to start the playoffs has, quite simply, not worked out for the Bruins in both of the last postseasons.

Perhaps things will be different if Swayman enters the playoffs as the No. 1. Or perhaps Montgomery will be so bold as to continue riding the two-goaltender system that has made the Bruins such a regular-season force for their last 100 or so regular-season games.

That decision can't be made until the spring rolls around. For now, though, even with Ullmark taking a step back to reality, Swayman has picked up the slack. The specifics and details have changed, but the Bruins still have the best goaltending situation in the NHL.