Jeremy Swayman is in his first full season as the No. 1 goalie for the Boston Bruins, yet he’s already 10th all-time in victories among the team’s netminders. Though this season hasn’t been without hiccups and disappointment—for Swayman and the team around him—the 26-year-old netminder from Anchorage, Alaska is on the cusp of winning his 100th game in a Bruins uniform. While this is a momentous milestone for any goalie, the last step hasn’t been an easy one for Swayman to make.
On March 11, 2025, Swayman won his 99th game with the Bruins, a 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers. Since then, Swayman has started four games for the Bruins, allowing 22 goals on 130 shots. This chase has been even more frustrating due to the nature of these losses for the Bruins; though the team just lost 2-1 to the Red Wings in Swayman’s clear best effort since his 99th win, the fact that he allowed at least four goals in each of the four games before that, including seven against the Los Angeles Kings and five against the Vegas Golden Knights, has been less than inspiring.
It’s been a very rough stretch for the goalie the Bruins invested $66 million over eight years into this offseason, It’s difficult to place all the blame on him. Despite this, his numbers paint a concerning picture: a 20-25-6 record, a 3.10 goals-against average, an .893 save percentage, and a -11.4 goals saved above average (GSAA). Still, context matters, and a lot of context is needed to fully unpack what’s gone wrong for Swayman this season.
Swayman’s 2024-25 Season Struggles
One of the biggest hurdles Swayman faced this season was missing all of training camp and the preseason due to a contract dispute. Though enough time has passed for Swayman to have gotten his footing this season, he couldn’t shake off his slow start. Another factor to consider is that this season marked the first time Swayman was tasked with full-time starting duties. Though he showed his ability to carry the brunt of the load throughout his stellar playoff run last season, which allowed the team to feel confident enough to trade away Swayman’s former co-starter Linus Ullmark during the offseason, he wasn’t able to replicate that throughout the 2024-25 season.
Perhaps the most important thing to factor in here is that Swayman has also been without a consistent supporting cast in front of him from a defensive standpoint. Hampus Lindholm, one of the Bruins’ best defenders, has played in just 17 games this season. Charlie McAvoy, though more regularly available than Lindholm, has played in only 50 of the Bruins’ 74 games. The team also traded Brandon Carlo away at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, moving on from their other most consistent defensive presence in the core. The Bruins also fired head coach Jim Montgomery this season and haven’t performed any better under interim head coach Joe Sacco.
In professional sports, context matters but excuses are certainly not welcome. Fortunately for the Bruins, Swayman hasn’t made any excuses for his play this season. No one is more aware of his shortcomings than Swayman himself, and he’ll have the full offseason and training camp to regain his form and live up to his contract.
The Bruins have committed to a retool by trading away a huge chunk of their core this season, including captain Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Trent Frederic, Justin Brazeau and, as mentioned, Carlo. Though winning won’t be easy in the short term, there will naturally be high expectations on Swayman to perform due to his contract (and rightfully so). Despite his struggles, Swayman remains a key piece of the Bruins’ future—but he’ll need to earn the trust all over again.
