A highly anticipated 2024-25 campaign awaits the Boston Bruins. But even after landing high-profile additions like Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadarov over the summer, Jim Montgomery’s club faces a few questions heading into training camp.
The Bruins will report to Warrior Ice Arena on Wednesday for the start of the preseason. Amid an intriguing outlook, however, a significant development remains regarding one of their workhorses from last year’s postseason.
With that in mind, let’s look at Boston’s top preseason storylines.
Jeremy Swayman’s contract negotiations
Unless the two sides can agree to an eleventh-hour deal, the Bruins will likely begin the preseason without last year’s breakthrough playoff performer between the pipes.
In an interview with Kevin Paul Dupont of The Boston Globe, GM Don Sweeney didn’t offer an update on the ongoing discussions with Swayman’s camp. The two sides will continue to meet this week.
“Kick it down the road,” Sweeney told Dupont. “We’ll talk next week.”
Swayman’s negotiations extending into the training camp timeframe isn’t a new development under Sweeney. One notable prior development came in 2019 when the cap-strapped Bruins settled on bridge deals with defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo shortly after camp began.
These negotiations with Swayman are a little more complicated. On one hand, Swayman, who appeared in a career-high 56 tilts (combined regular and postseason), proved he can serve as the team’s backbone for an extended period, and he deserves a significant pay raise from the $3.475 million he made last year following arbitration. On the other, Sweeney and Boston’s front office appear hesitant to commit such a raise to Swayman after he served in a rotation with Linus Ullmark over the previous three seasons.
Neither side wants this impasse to extend into the start of the regular season. Under the league’s CBA, Swayman has until Dec. 1 to sign a new contract and maintain his eligibility for the remainder of the season. In the meantime, they’ll spend the next few weeks assessing their two other options in net.
How will the Swayman negotiations impact the competition between Brandon Bussi and Jonas Korpisalo?
Regardless of Swayman’s situation, Bussi and Korpisalo will both enter camp competing with one another.
That can all change if or when the Bruins and Swayman agree to terms. Either way, Korpisalo and Bussi will vie for either the gig as Swayman’s backup or as the primary netminder if the former UMaine standout misses at least the start of the regular season.
Bussi paid his dues with a productive two-year stint in Providence to begin his professional hockey career. Korpiaslo, one of three products the Bruins acquired in the Ullmark trade (along with Mark Kastellic and this year’s first-round selection Dean Letourneau), arrives as a reclamation project following his lone shaky season in Ottawa.
The Bruins hope Korpisalo can refind his form from his days in Columbus or his stint in Los Angeles following the 2023 Trade Deadline. Given Bob Essensa’s track record working with various young and veteran goaltenders throughout his Boston tenure — including Ullmark, Swayman and Tuukka Rask — and a heavy D in front of him, Korpisalo will indeed have some solid pieces around him for a potential bounce-back season.
As Sweeney acknowledged during his pre-draft press conference, Bussi deserves that opportunity to earn a full-time NHL role.
Yet, Bussi and Korpisalo will enter a conundrum if Swayman returns. Given Bussi’s upside and Korpisalo’s $4 million cap hit over the next four years, the Bruins could risk losing one of their options in net for nothing if they opt to place the former on waivers. Perhaps the Bruins can bury Korpisalo’s cap hit in Providence or find a potential trade suitor, but they’d likely have to absorb part of his remaining cap hit in a possible deal.
The competition for the winger vacancies.
The Bruins filled their defensive and center needs on July 1. Yet, they encountered some turnover within their forward core after Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen and James van Riemsdyk departed for new homes.
Barring injury or other unexpected developments, Lindholm, David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Pavel Zacha, Morgan Geekie, Johnny Beecher and Trent Frederic are all penciled in for the Oct. 8 opener in Florida. That leaves five vacancies on the depth chart.
Justin Brazeau remains a prime candidate for a fourth-line role following his emergence late last year. Brazeau will likely compete alongside former Anaheim Max Jones and Kastelic for the two vacant wing spots on Boston’s fourth line.
Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov look to transition into a full-time middle-six role following a productive season in Providence. Between the two high-profile prospects, an energetic potential bottom-six candidate in Riley Duran, and healthy Matthew Poitras, who appeared in 33 games in his rookie season following a standout training camp, the Bruins could instill another injection of youth.
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