The Boston Bruins and Jeremy Swayman are embroiled in a contract dispute. The team is ten days into training camp and has not had their starting goalie in practice yet. Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told the media Monday that Joonas Korpisalo will likely start the opening game.
“[Bruins GM Don] Sweeney notes that at this stage of camp, it might be ‘unlikely' that Swayman would be ready to go for Boston’s season opener. Montgomery adds on Korpisalo: ‘Right now he’s going to be our Game 1 starter,'” Boston.com's Conor Ryan reported.
Add those two comments together and you have a near-announcement on the opening night starter for the Bruins. Korpisalo came over in the trade that sent Linus Ullmark to the Senators. Part of his contract remained with the Senators, showing that they were desperate to get rid of him. The Bruins are now putting the start of a title-hopeful season on a goalie a rebuilding team did not want.
Also in Monday's press conference, Sweeney took a pretty clear shot at Swayman. He said that the Bruins goalie has “64 million reasons” to show up at training camp. That implied that the team offered him a $64 million deal that Swayman declined. This is not the first comment that has brought the deal into question. Sweeney incited the December 1 deadline earlier this month.
Bruins must figure out goaltending situation
The Bruins are in the toughest division in hockey, as the Atlantic Division houses the last five Eastern Conference champions. While the early season games won't decide the entire division, Boston does need to get off to a nice start. With the Lightning, Panthers, and Maple Leafs all commanding playoff spots, the race begins on day one to grab a playoff spot.
Korpisalo posted a .890 save percentage in 55 starts last season which will not be good enough for the Bruins. The good news for both parties is that Boston has a much better defensive core than the Senators do. While the Swayman dispute should be over by the end of November, he will need time to get up to game speed.
In good Bruins news, center Elias Lindholm returned to practice over the weekend. His undisclosed injury appears to be behind him, despite the non-contact jersey he was wearing. They picked up Lindholm in free agency to be their number one center and he is expected to play between Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak.
Follow Us
Subscribe
