Rookie goalie Jeremy Swayman has been one of the most pleasant surprises of this Bruins season, as he has gone from fourth on the organizational depth chart as a first-year pro to now winning Boston's backup goaltending job for the start of the playoffs.
While it took Tuukka Rask getting hurt and Jaroslav Halak entering COVID-19 protocols for Swayman to get an opportunity with the Bruins, it was what he did with that opportunity that forced the team to keep him around and keep playing him even after Rask and Halak returned.
In 10 starts, Swayman is 7-3-0 with a .945 save percentage and 1.50 goals-against average. He ranks first in the NHL in both categories among goalies who have made at least 10 starts. Natural Stat Trick has him first in high-danger save percentage (.891). Evolving-Hockey has him ninth in goals saved above average, and the eight goalies ahead of him have all played at least 23 games.
Meeting with the media via Zoom on Wednesday, Bruins president Cam Neely and general manager Don Sweeney both discussed what they've seen from Swayman.
"What I see with him is just he’s so calm and poised," Neely said. "I like how he challenges the shooters, he comes out, he gets to the top of the paint. So, there’s a little less to see when you’re looking where to put the puck. His calmness and his poise has really been impressive to me."
"It's a small sample size, but the wins and losses and stops add up," Sweeney said. "You look at how your team has played in front of him and what you expect from percentages and high dangers and situations that he's handled. Teams that we've played against are somewhat common for this season, but we've put him on the road and we've put him in situations and he's handled it well. For us, there's still a lot to be determined and there's plenty of young goaltenders that have taken huge steps forward and minor steps back. We'll see, but again, what we've thrown at Jeremy up until this point, he's handled well, and we expect him to continue."
Neely was asked if Swayman's breakout changes the Bruins' goaltending plans beyond this season, and he seemed to acknowledge that it has.
"That's a good question. We've certainly had some internal talks recently about how things are going to look moving forward," Neely said. "We want to get through this year and see how the season ends up and where we're at. Just the way he's played has given us some thoughts of what direction we may go in compared to where we were maybe two months ago."
Rask and Halak are both set to be unrestricted free agents after the season. It's possible that earlier this season the Bruins envisioned bringing both of them back for at least one more year, or perhaps re-signing one and then getting another veteran.
But with Swayman already beating out Halak for the backup job for the playoffs -- a decision coach Bruce Cassidy made official Tuesday night -- it would stand to reason that the Bruins are probably now pretty comfortable going into next season with Swayman being one of their two opening night NHL goalies. A Rask-Swayman tandem, with Rask back on a one- or two-year deal, isn't hard to imagine, especially if Rask has a good postseason.
Rask will be the Bruins' starter to open the playoffs, and obviously the hope is that he plays great, stays healthy, plays every game, and the Bruins don't have any need to turn to their backup.
But if they do have to go to Swayman at some point, Neely said he thinks the team will be pretty confident in him, from the front office to the coaches to the players.
"Just based on the short sample size that we got and the way he’s played, from my perspective and probably the players' perspective, they’re going to be confident playing in front of him," Neely said. "You don’t get experience until you start playing, so that’s how you gain your experience. So, we’ll see what happens here in the playoffs."