The Bruins are entering the 2021-22 season with a promising goaltending tandem that they’re excited about.
They committed four years and $20 million in free agency to Linus Ullmark, a 28-year-old who had very good numbers on a very bad Buffalo team last year. They’re pairing him with 22-year-old Jeremy Swayman, who was excellent in his first taste of NHL action last season.
There’s also the possibility of Tuukka Rask returning sometime in the middle of the season -- likely around Christmas or January -- once he’s recovered from offseason hip surgery.
That could be a great thing if the Bruins need help at the position, be it because of injury or one of Ullmark or Swayman struggling.
Or it could make things complicated if Ullmark and Swayman are both healthy and playing well. If the Bruins have one of the better goalie duos in the NHL, would they still bring Rask back? Would Rask still want to come back if the Bruins tell him he’s the No. 3 goalie? Would Ullmark and/or Swayman feel slighted if they suddenly went from a duo to a trio and had to give up some playing time to Rask?
It’s a bridge the Bruins obviously don’t need to cross right now. Still, it’s a situation they’ve already addressed with Ullmark and Swayman, and coach Bruce Cassidy acknowledged on Thursday that there is a possibility things could get “sticky.”
“It could,” Cassidy said. “We’ve talked to both our goalies about our entire goaltending situation and where the team’s at. I can only go by what Tuukka’s told me and everyone else, which is that he’d like to stay and return to Boston. We understand that. But it’s way too early to say if that’s definite or if it’s not happening.
“Can it get sticky? It could. If it does get sticky, we have to do right by the guys that are signed here, and we’ll address it. I think Tuukka acknowledged that. He’s a good pro. He’s a good person. I don’t think he’s here trying to create any issues. He’s just trying to get healthy.”
For his part, Swayman said a couple weeks ago that he just wants whatever is best for the Bruins.
“I think he’s doing his job well,” Swayman said of Rask, “and I want to do my job well. I think both of us want to do whatever’s best for this team to win, and that’s all I care about, is whatever’s best for this team. So I’m going to do my job while I can, and I’m sure he’s going to do the same. I’m super excited to see what he does, and likewise for me.”
Ullmark also addressed the situation on Thursday, saying he’s just focused on the present and not thinking that far ahead.
“I stay in the present, stay in the moment,” Ullmark said. “That’s something for the future. I think that I focus on right now. That’s what my priorities are right now.”
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