Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced on October 2 that the team has claimed goaltender Jiri Patera off waivers from the Vancouver Canucks. The 25-year-old netminder played 25 games with the Henderson Silver Knights (AHL) in the 2023-24 season, recording an 11-10-4 record with a 2.99 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage.
This seems to be a clear indication that the Bruins are preparing for the inevitable; that Jeremy Swayman won’t be joining them for the start of the regular season. The hint here is that the organization thinks negotiations with their RFA starter could drag on.
The latest is that the Bruins have offered Swayman close to $64 million over eight years but he’s not ready to accept. One report on Wednesday suggested the Bruins might pull that offer when the season starts.
Standing 6-foot-3 and weighing 212 pounds, Patera has appeared in 85 AHL games, totaling a career record of 37-40-6 with a 2.92 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage. He has also played eight NHL games for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Patera was the only player claimed out of 28 who were put on waivers by their respective teams.
The Canucks Lose Someone They Might Have Needed in Patera
This isn’t exactly ideal for the Vancouver Canucks. Patera was slotted to be a depth netminder behind Thatcher Demko and Arturs Silovs, likely battling with the recently-signed Kevin Lankinen late in the season for starts. With uncertainty surrounding Demko’s health and Silovs’ inexperience, having depth would have been helpful.
Patera played one pre-season game with Vancouver, stopping 16 of the 19 shots he faced in a 4-3 overtime victory over the Calgary Flames.
