Michael DiPietro (Photo courtesy of Stuart Cahill – Boston Herald)
Multiple NHL teams will be keeping a close eye on the waiver wire today and tomorrow to see if the Boston Bruins try to sneak goalie Michael DiPietro through waivers and back onto the Providence Bruins roster in the American Hockey League.
“I’d be surprised if he makes it through,” an NHL source told RG on Saturday. “I’ve had conversations with managers, and the feeling is that teams who still need backups would love to grab him off waivers because they think he can actually be a 1B, not just a backup.”
As for who those teams are?
“I’ve heard the Maple Leafs and Flames have expressed trade interest in him before,” another NHL source told RG recently. “I’d also keep an eye on the Hurricanes. Look, this kid was expected to have teams willing to sign him if he hadn’t re-upped with the Bruins just before free agency started. Teams have called on him before, and if he goes through, I’d be surprised if he’s not claimed.”
DiPietro signed a two-year, $1.3 million ($812,500 AAV) contract with the Bruins on June 30 after a brilliant 2024-25 season with the Providence Bruins. The 26-year-old goalie went 26-8-5 with a 2.05 GAA and a .927 save percentage. He earned first-team AHL All-Star honors and won the 2025 Aldege ‘Baz’ Bastien award as the league’s best goalie.
DiPietro was originally drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the third round (64th overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He was acquired (along with the rights to defenseman Jonathan Myrenberg) by the Bruins from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forward Jack Studnicka on October 27, 2022. DiPietro has one NHL appearance coming with the Canucks on January 23, 2022, when he stopped 14 of 17 shots in a 3-1 win for the St. Louis Blues.
As a result of goalie Joseph Woll’s uncertain status, the Toronto Maple Leafs recently brought back veteran goalie James Reimer on a professional tryout. They also still had 24-year-old Dennis Hildeby on their roster as of Sunday morning. A week ago, the Leafs signed starting goalie Anthony Stolarz to a four-year, $15 million ($3.75M AAV) contract extension.
“The Leafs are really going for it, and I don’t think they want to take any chances between the pipes, so they want to get deeper there,” the second source above added. “This is a kid that many think is coming into his own, so it makes sense they would be interested.”
As for the Calgary Flames, they’re about to enter the 2025-26 regular season with 28-year-old Devin Cooley backing up 24-year-old and 2025 Calder Trophy finalist Dustin Wolf. Wolf recently signed a seven-year, $52.5 million ($7.5M AAV) contract extension.
It should be noted that while those around the NHL seem to think it’s inevitable that DiPietro will be put on waivers and subsequently claimed, Bruins head coach Marco Sturm did recently seem to leave the door open that his team could start the first week of the regular season with three goalies.
“We need him. If you look at the schedule, and I said it before, if you look at the schedule, we need all the guys, and especially our goalies, two for sure,” Bruins head coach Marco Sturm told the Boston Globe on Friday. “There will not be one guy playing eight games in a row. That’s not going to happen. It’s going to be both of them. They have to carry us and that’s why I’m very happy that we have two goalies and even with Michael DiPietro, three goalies like that we can rely on.”
Given that Jeremy Swayman carries a cap hit of $8.25 million and Joonas Korpisalo is at $3 million, it seems unlikely that the Bruins would keep DiPietro on the roster and carry three goalies. If they don’t, the two likely scenarios that will keep DiPietro in the Bruins organization are either that he clears waivers or that Korpisalo is traded.