The Bruins may have another problem in net

When the Bruins decided to trade Linus Ullmark last summer, it went beyond just Jeremy Swayman's playoff breakthrough and Swayman's upcoming and ultimately inevitable payday.

At their exit interviews last year, both Swayman and Ullmark indicated to Bruins management that they wanted to play more games next season. In fact, both goalies indicated that around 55 games was their preference. In a league with an 82-game schedule, it simply wasn't possible to appease both goaltenders so long as both remained in Boston and with the Bruins.

But granting Swayman's wish has seemed to lead to another problem for the Bruins (and one beyond Swayman's ugly play in his first year as a full-time starter), with the Bruins' Joonas Korpisalo sounding less than pleased with the workload he was given in his first year as a Bruin.

"I don't think there's any goalie in the league who's really comfortable playing 20 to 25 games," Korpisalo said at Bruins break-up day last week. "So I'm going to push for more games and we'll see what happens."

It wasn't quite a 'trade me right bleeping now' from Korpisalo, but it was an admission that this was not what he had in mind. Nor was this the first time that it's come up this season. Following Korpisalo's second to last appearance of the season (a loss in Buffalo), Korpisalo admitted that it had been tough to sit for extended stretches, and gave a sort of "it is what it is" type of answer that seemed to indicate that he did not agree with it.

That came up again on break-up day, and a similar answer followed.

“I was pretty open when I got into the season, and always, you just try to put everything you have out there, make your mark to gain some playing time," Korpisalo admitted. "But you just do what's best for you every day, and try your best and work hard, and that way you might earn some more playing time. But you know, sometimes not up to me [with] who’s going to play more. And whatever role it is, you do the best you can in that role.”

Swayman, meanwhile, had no issues with his own playing time after a 58-start season, which was a 15-start uptick from his previous career high.

"The learning that I had this year, just with the games played, that was awesome," Swayman said at break-up day. "And just getting to know my body, knowing where my mental is at and wanting more and feeling really good is something that I can really build on.

"I'm so happy with the way my body felt and my mind felt, and again, just being hungry every game, expecting to play and getting the nod and wanting to give my team a chance to win every single night. And, you know, a huge testament to the trainers here and the work that you know, we've put in to allow my body to attain that physical load.”

That's not what you'd call a willingness to take a step back.

In a separate answer to a question thrown his way, Swayman said that he enjoyed being able to lean on a veteran like Korpisalo, and called him a "brotherly" figure. But on the ice, it feels like this current start split and deployment is not a formula for success or dueling happiness in 2025-26.

Of course, the simple solution would be to reel in Swayman's starts a little bit and inch the goalies closer to a 50-50 split. It's also worth mentioning that Swayman was not as strong when making his third straight start this past season. Instead, he posted a 4-9-2 record and .892 save percentage in 2024-25 when making his third straight start.

There's a legitimate argument to be made for something closer resembling an even split in the crease being in the best interest of both the team's success and Swayman's personal success. Especially when the Bruins are spending $11.25 million at the goaltender position in total between Swayman's $8.25 million cap hit and Korpisalo's $3 million. There's no sense in spending that much money in goal and calling it a strength if you're not going to deploy it as a strength and piss off one of the guys along the way.

It may also be in the best interest of the Bruins to move on from Korpisalo ─ they're not moving Swayman one year into an eight-year contract, so let's not waste our breath with that topic, honestly ─ regardless of any tweaks they envision for the deployment in 2025-26.

The Bruins have a plethora of needs, and though their cap space situation isn't anything even close to a disaster, the expectation is that the Bruins are going to spend to the cap to build out next year's roster. That means that every dollar counts, and a $3 million backup may be too rich for the Bruins. Doubly so with AHL All-Star (and pending free agent) Michael DiPietro in the minors and wanting a shot with the Black and Gold.

Korpisalo, for what it's worth, has another three years remaining on his current contract, and at $3 million per season. The 30-year-old Korpisalo is also in possession of a modified no-trade clause, with a 10-team 'no-trade' list on his contract. And after an .890 in 2023-24 and an .893 in 2024-25, it's not exactly the most tradable contract in goal.

But it may not be about the return as much as it's cleaning out the room and a potentially ugly situation, as it's clear that this current structure isn't working for either goaltender on or off the ice.