When the Bruins were drawing out a plan for moving away from the Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman rotation, starting his first full-time starting season with an ugly contract dispute between the front office and Swayman probably wasn’t part of it.
The effects of that dispute and the missed time in training camp that followed certainly carried over into the beginning of the season, as the 26-year-old didn’t look himself at the beginning of the season.
In these last few weeks, though, Swayman seems to be looking more like the goalie fans expected to see and the one the Bruins ended up handing a historic contract to.
Tuesday night, he earned his third shutout of the season against the Minnesota Wild in a 3-0 win at TD Garden. Swayman is 3-2 in his last five starts with a 2.8 GAA and a .903 save percentage.
“I don't think it's a surprise that all the stuff in the off-season with Swayman kind of bled into the regular season,” Rich Keefe said Wednesday on WEEI’s Jones and Keefe.
“He wasn't great, the defenseman in front of him also weren't great, and there were some really kind of weird games. You end up firing your coach, and you kind of go on. But now, Swayman has put together some really good games,” Keefe continued.
Swayman’s resurgence and David Pastrnak’s strong January may make the Bruins reconsider their path at the deadline.
“Between Swayman and Pastrnak having a crazy month of January like that might be what Cam [Neely] can sell himself on. It’s like, ‘Alright, now my two best players are playing like the two best players, that guy looks like a 50-goal scorer right now, and that guy looks like closer to a top five goalie.’ So maybe that's how you convince yourself,” Keefe said.
Neely’s most recent public comments regarding the Bruins’ strategy at the deadline indicated that the team’s performance would dictate whether it chose to buy or sell. With the deadline a little more than a month away, if Swayman can keep stringing good games together, the front office will have an easier time finding the right path.
“It might be overly simplistic to say it, but I think it's accurate: if they're going to go on any kind of run to the postseason and then a run if they get there, they need Swayman right,” Adam Jones said.
“Minnesota is not only a good team, but a good road team, and so they were able to pick off that victory last night largely because of Jeremy Swayman. The reason you advanced a round last year was because of Jeremy Swayman,” Jones continued.
The other big story regarding the trade deadline is the rumors and reports that have connected captain Brad Marchand to teams like the Edmonton Oilers, which may be looking to shore up their teams with a proven playoff performer.
Elliotte Friedman said on his ‘32 Thoughts’ podcasts that “there was a time this year where I didn’t think there was a chance that Marchand was going to be out, and now I think it’s not as certain.”
Keefe agreed that the Marchand should remain an option for the Bruins to trade.
“At one point, Marchand probably seemed untradable for the team, but when you're scuffling the way that you are, he remains without a contract for next year, I think you have to explore all avenues,” Keefe said.
“They are at 55 games, a good sample size, and so they need to consider it. But now you have other guys in the hockey world, kind of speculating on what might happen with that,” he continued.
The Bruins will be back in action Wednesday night when they take on the New York Rangers.