The Boston Bruins currently sit in second place in the Atlantic Division. Nobody had this team making the postseason, yet here they are after Thanksgiving. There have been plenty of factors that have contributed to their success. This team looks more in sync under new head coach Marco Sturm. Morgan Geekie and David Pastrnak carry the goal scoring. But the bounce back from Jeremy Swayman should be more appreciated than it is.
Jeremy Swayman Bouncing Back Is Massive
The strength of the Bruins is their defense and their goaltending. When you look at the overall makeup of the forward group, goal-scoring was not pegged to come in bunches. They’ve defied those expectations, as they’ve scored the ninth-most goals in the league (81). However, things could be grim if not for Swayman and him bouncing back the way he is.
Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins (Eric Canha-Imagn Images)
It was a tough 2024-25 season for Swayman. The stalled contract extension talks saw him miss camp and even preseason. Essentially, he was ramping up during the season, and it didn’t go nearly as planned. Swayman had the worst season of his young career, posting a .892 save percentage and a 3.11 goals-against average. Granted, the team was a mess defensively and looked out of sync, which did him no favors.
General manager Don Sweeney chose Swayman to be his guy when he traded away Linus Ullmark. When you truly look at his 2024-25 season, that was more of an outlier than the norm for him. He is proving that with his play now. This season is different, and he looks like a completely different player.
Swayman an Entirely Different Player
The Bruins have scored plenty of goals this season, but Swayman has stood on his head in plenty of games and even has stolen two points for the team. What he’s doing this season is exactly what the Bruins wanted to see. He’s living up to his $8.25 million per season contract and being the backbone for this team.
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Everything for Swayman’s game has been elevated. He looks like a goalie who came into the season with a chip on his shoulder, showing that he is the goalie that he has always been.
Of goalies who have started at least 10 games, Swayman is fifth in save percentage (.915) and 11th in goals-against average (2.62). His value to the team goes beyond the standard statistics. Per MoneyPuck, his wins above replacement (WAR) is the best among goalies, with 3.23. Furthermore, Swayman leads all goalies in goals-against average better than expected, with 1.13. His expected goals-against average is projected to be 3.75, and it sits at 2.62.
His most improved metric is his goals saved above expected. The 2024-25 season saw him finish with minus-9.1, and now he leads the league with 19.4. The next-closest goalie is Spencer Knight, with 14.9. It’s a testament to how dialed in Swayman has been and his ability to stop the opponent’s quality chances.
The Bruins have suffered injuries, as they’ve been without Hampus Lindholm, Elias Lindholm, Charlie McAvoy, and Pavel Zacha. They’ve managed to weather those, but if they lost Swayman, they’d be in trouble. He has been that good.
You Love What You’re Getting
The Bruins would be in a worse position if not for Swayman. He has been one of the best goalies this season and has been rock-solid for the Bruins. It’s been a great bounce-back season to watch, and the Bruins have surged because of it.
