Jeremy Swayman Should Not Leave Boston
We should not even have this discussion. Jeremy Swayman is awesome for the Bruins.
One of the big reasons for Boston’s dominance this season is their goaltending. Linus Ullmark and Swayman have rapidly become the best 1-2 punch in net anywhere in hockey. They’ve been absolutely lights out thus far. So why is it that talking heads in Boston think they should be split up? This is a seriously stupid take. In the words of Stephen A. Smith, I would even call it asinine.
Obviously, this team could look a whole lot different after this season. David Pastrnak is an upcoming free agent and both Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci are getting very up there in age. But why ruin something so good in net? Ullmark has hands down the number one spot in Boston. He’s got a whopping 29-4-1 record with a .937 save percentage and 1.88 goals against average. That is Vezina stuff right there.
Batman and Robin?
But Swayman has been pretty darn impressive too. To the point where I consider him the best No. 2 goalie in the league and a starter for many other teams. He’s got a 14-4-4 record with a 2.34 goals against and .916 save percentage, including a 31-save performance Thursday night in a thrilling win against the Kraken on the road. He can equally do the job for this team as well. Even more importantly is his ability to give quality starts for the B’s while Ullmark takes the night off.
Those radio guys also forgot to mention something else. The playoffs are right around the corner. Where goaltending is put under an even stronger microscope than usual. Not too long ago, we saw Carey Price get knocked out by Chris Kreider in the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals. Montreal’s backup was Dustin Tokarski as the Rangers won in six games. Obviously, injuries are the worst in the playoffs. Every team wants all of their guys ready to go.
However, you need to also be prepared for anything in April and May. Having Swayman as an insurance policy in case Ullmark gets hurt makes a lot of sense. He also fits in perfectly with their timeline. At 24, Boston can afford to keep Swayman as the backup and then give him the keys to the crease in a year or two. There are so many reasons not to trade Jeremy Swayman. Hopefully Don Sweeney does not fumble this trade deadline and lose a very valuable piece.
