Is Jeremy Swayman about to steal someone’s job?

Author Ty Anderson

April 23rd, 2021 6:08 AM

In just 18 days, one-time fourth-string Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman has evolved from nice story to legitimate threat.

It’s the kind of movement only the most dedicated Pokemon master or Sims player could hope for, and that’s in non-quarantine times. But it’s the trajectory the 22-year-old Swayman currently finds himself on through six NHL appearances, and with five wins in those six starts, and his impact is not lost on Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy.

“It’s only been about three weeks now, but [Swayman is] certainly a guy that looks capable every time we’re in there,” Cassidy said after Swayman’s 29-of-30 performance against the Sabres. “And a little bit more comfortable each time.”

Speaking to that ‘comfort’, Thursday’s performance actually saw Swayman’s season save percentage bounce up from a ridiculous .938 to a downright preposterous .943. Swayman’s also stopped all but four of the 37 all-situation, high-danger shots thrown his way through his first six appearances, giving him an .892 high-danger save percentage, which currently ranks as the best in the league among all goalies with at least 350 minutes in net this season.

And Swayman’s growing comfort in an NHL crease may be a bad thing for more than just the opposition.

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  It's been 20 days since Bruins backup Jaroslav Halak last appeared in a game.
  
  Landing in the COVID protocol two days after his last appearance, the Bruins have rolled with a combination of Swayman, Tuukka Rask, and Daniel Vladar during Halak's absence. Swayman and Rask have been the showstoppers over that stretch, especially of late, with six victories and a combined .958 save percentage in their last six outings.
  
  “You got two guys who are really on their game," Cassidy said of his current Rask-Swayman duo. "And then Jaro was playing well before he went into the COVID protocol, so that’s a good problem to have. Now you got a third guy, so the problem we do have is finding enough games to get them all in the net and get them sharp."
  
  The Bruins are committed to Halak in the sense that the Bruins will give him a chance to find his game and rhythm upon his jump back into action. So this isn't going to be Halak losing his gig without a fight because he contracted COVID.
  
  "We’ll work on that down the road trying to get him sharp," said Cassidy. "And other things could happen with the way this year has gone, so who knows? Right now, it’s Tuukka and Swayman in the moment, and we’ll see where Jaro ends up.”
  
  But you simply have to wonder how long of a leash Halak will be given upon his inevitable return.
  
  In addition to already learning in the 2020 postseason that Halak can't be 'the guy' to lead you to a Cup if Rask goes down, Halak has been hit and miss in 2021. In spite of a 9-5-3 record on the year, Halak landed on the COVID list with a 2-1-1 record and 14 goals on 113 shots (an .876 save percentage) in his last four appearances. Halak's final start before entering the protocol would've been a disaster had the Bruins not provided him with seven goals of support at the other end, too.
  
  With Halak, there's always a question as to which version you're going to get: the brick wall who stops 30-of-31 and stonewalls the opposition for 180 straight minutes or the one who gives up leaky goals and forces you to score five or six.

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  The Bruins haven't had those concerns with Swayman. That alone isn't normal.
  
  Nobody's supposed to just seamlessly jump to the NHL after only a month and change of AHL seasoning.
  
  And while Swayman isn't the first young netminder Cassidy's seen during his time with the Bruins organization, he's clearly different than the others in terms of his poise, his experience, and know-how. At the game's highest level, too.
  
  “Composure's definitely a thing for [Swayman],” Cassidy said. “And I think he's a little bit older. Like I think Malcolm [Subban] was a true 20-year-old and [Michael Hutchinson], for that matter. I think Zane [McIntyre] was a little older and I only had him at the tail end, but I'd say definitely Rask, Hutch, and Subban were younger physically, too.
  
  "In general to be able to to recover in games and stuff like that, they kept their composure and their technique very well. So obviously the conditioning may be an issue for him being ahead of those guys back then, but [Swayman] certainly seems to have composure. They all had work ethic. I just think [Swayman]'s a little bit ahead of them technically. That's what I've seen out of him.
  
  "He doesn't seem to get rattled, tracks pucks very well. That's probably the other part, maybe a little ahead of Tuukka back then where he can fight his way through bodies. He has a way to find pucks to establish position so he's not stuck deep in his net. He's very good at getting out there, getting to his spot, and not getting knocked off it. So that's probably a little bit of aggressiveness, a little bit of physical strength. So that's that's probably what I've seen so far."
  
  Swayman's also not wired to relent. In any respect.

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  Cut from his first junior team, Swayman knows the sting of failure. In fact, it's stuck with him and served as fuel to this day.
  
  That fuel played out to a stellar hockey career at Maine, and has now led to repeated, meaningful starts for a B's team in the middle of their stretch run and making a legitimate push for first place in the East Division.
  
  "I wasn't going to take no for an answer after I was cut," Swayman, who practically channeled his inner Timmy Thomas and admitted that he still thinks about that moment a lot, acknowledged. "And that's something that I promised myself and my family. I said that was the worst feeling ever and I never wanted to be cut from a team again. I'm really grateful that I did fail in that circumstance because it's really motivated me for the future and a big reason why I'm here now.
  
  "It's just a mindset that I've kept from then on out: Someone else is working harder than you every day. So [I'm] making sure that I'm doing what I can to be better and compete with myself to give my team my best."
  
  (Oh, if that doesn't get you fired up, nothing will.)
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  But Swayman also undoubtedly represents Boston's best plan if Rask isn't capable.
  
  Now, ask me point blank who I think gives the Bruins a better chance to win a Stanley Cup and I'll still go Rask. If he's healthy and upright when these games matter, I'd still want Rask in net. I think he's been every bit capable of winning a Cup despite what the screamers will tell you, and I think that remains the case here in 2021.
  
  (I'll die on this hill, and I'm more than OK with that decision.)
  
  That said, there's a definite possibility that Rask will not be capable (read as: fully healthy) in 2021.
  
  The 34-year-old Rask has been dynamite since returning from the back injury that limited him to just one 20-minute start over the last month and a half, but Rask straight-up admitted that he's simply "good enough to play." Hard to find a worse mix than bad backs and goaltenders, and quotes like that don't inspire confidence. Load management, rest, and everything in between will be the name of game for Rask down the stretch, and even that may not be enough. One awkward movement in net and Boston's greatest postseason difference-maker is back to hobbling off the ice like he's 100 years old.
  
  And again, if that happens, Halak shouldn't be viewed as the No. 1 option. Been there, done that, hated that. That should instead be left with the hope that the lightning in the bottle known as Swayman continues to deliver.
  
  “We’ve looked at everything there," Cassidy admitted when asked about Swayman potentially riding as Rask's No. 2 for the remainder of the year. "Obviously he’s played well, we have a lot of confidence with him going in there.”
  
  This isn't a totally foreign concept either.
  
  Then-Capitals netminder Braden Holtby launched his career as a 22-year-old veteran of 16 NHL games and dethroned the defending champion Bruins in a seven-game series of one-goal games in 2012, and as we all (painfully) know, Jordan Binnington helped guide the Blues to their first-ever Stanley Cup in 2019.
  
  Swayman certainly has some similar traits to both those guys (and Rask for that matter) as a cool-yet-aggressive netminder who at times seems straight-up unbreakable because of the total package in the crease.
  
  "I had a coach tell me never get comfortable," Swayman revealed. "I'm never going to feel settled. I'm going to work my butt off every day to make sure that I'm getting better, I'm earning my spot, and doing whatever I can to help the team win.
  
  "So to answer your question, I'm not comfortable."
  
  And so long as that's the case, the same should be said by every other Boston netminder.

Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.

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Author Ty Anderson

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boston bruins,jaroslav halak,Jeremy Swayman,Tuukka Rask