Swayman at 'a different level' for Bruins heading into Game 6

BOSTON -- When Marco Sturm first spoke with Jeremy Swayman over the summer after being hired as the new coach of the Boston Bruins, his message was simple: “I don’t want to hear it, I don’t want to talk about what happened in the past, I didn’t really give a [expletive]. That was pretty much the message. I said we’re going to move forward.”

They talked about his importance to the team, about his role on the Bruins, about narrowing his focus to stopping the puck.

Swayman was coming off the worst season of his NHL career, a season in which he missed training camp, signed a big contract (eight years, $66 million), inherited the starting goalie spot, and saw his results crater.

But Sturm didn’t want to dwell on that. They could start fresh. 

Swayman has rewarded that faith, turning in the best season of his career, which has continued with a stellar run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He has been the biggest reason for the Bruins remaining alive in a best-of-7 series in which they’re down 3-2 to the Buffalo Sabres, and will try to help extend that series Friday, when the Sabres and Bruins square off at TD Garden (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, NESN, MSG-B, TVAS2, SN360) in a must-win Game 6 for Boston. 

For those efforts, Swayman was named one of three finalists for the Vezina Trophy, voted as best goalie in the NHL, alongside Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He went 31-18-4 this season with a 2.71 goals-against average, a .908 save percentage and two shutouts in 55 games (54 starts).

“It’s a lifelong dream of mine,” Swayman said. “To finally be in the conversation, it’s an incredible honor. The goalies that have come before me and have won the Vezina, most are Hall of Famers, so it’s pretty incredible to be a part of that conversation, and a ton of credit goes to this group in front of me. It’s such a team award and I’m just so blessed to be a part of it.”

It marks the first time Swayman has been a finalist for the award, though he was one half of the William M. Jennings Trophy-winning duo in 2023 with Linus Ullmark, who won the Vezina that season. The William M. Jennings Trophy is given to the goalie or goalies who have the fewest goals scored on them in a season. 

“It’s great, it’s amazing,” Sturm said. “Just like that, he’s on top again and he showed it, especially last game again. All year long. Well deserved. Guys are really happy and he should be very proud the way he handled [it], especially after a year like that.

“We know how important he is for us as a team. And I also know why we’re in this position, why we’re still playing, and he’s a big part of it.”

This postseason, Swayman has a 2.87 GAA and .910 save percentage, though because of the Bruins’ Game 4 performance in a 6-1 loss, those numbers don’t entirely capture what he has meant to Boston in its first-round series. 

He has led on and off the ice, notably when he barked at the Bruins bench after coming off the ice in that disastrous Game 4, when Boston trailed 4-0 by the end of the first period. His fire was contagious and, more crucially, was backed up by a Game 5 in which he allowed a single power-play goal in a 2-1 overtime victory.

“That’s the beauty about him, I would say,” Sturm said. “I have experienced, guys will open their mouth and show some emotions, but then there is no reaction. They go out and whatever. This guy responded big time. Big time. He’s a leader. … To come like that and have a response and be the main guy again, that shows a lot.”

It was, yet again, a moment in which Swayman has persevered, much like last season, in which he has proven he can rise above.

“I don’t think I’d be here without it,” Swayman said of his struggles last season, when he was 22-29-7 with a 3.11 GAA, .892 save percentage and four shutouts in 58 starts and Boston failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons. “Truthfully. It was a whirlwind of a year and a half, on and off the ice, and I think it’s really structured out to be an incredible story. 

“The growth that has come from it internally and then obviously with the team too is pretty spectacular. I’m so blessed. Truthfully just so grateful for the journey that I’ve been on, the mindset that I have and the outlook that I have on life and hockey alike has completely shifted. It was worth the adversity, I would say. It’s definitely shifted my entire life to a different level.”

To do that, Swayman has leaned on those who have helped him get here, including his college goalie coach Alfie Michaud, including the manager of player development for USA Hockey, Steve Thompson. He has found mental and physical ways out of what was a deeply frustrating and disappointing season, one that didn’t truly represent what he could be or thought he was. 

“Very proud but not surprised!” Thompson wrote via text. “Jeremy loves the game and more importantly loves the process of preparing for the game. He also has a healthy balance between life within the glass and life outside of the glass. That’s all easier said than done and in my opinion is his silver bullet to complement his competitive fire and technical skill.”

There is also no surprise over how Swayman is performing in the postseason, given what he did last time he had a chance at the playoffs, with a 2.15 GAA and .933 save percentage in 12 starts against the Toronto Maple Leafs and eventual Cup champion Florida Panthers in 2024.

There will be no surprise if he leads the Bruins again on Friday. 

“He had a phenomenal year,” defenseman Nikita Zadorov said. “That’s why we’re here, where we are, because of him, for sure. He has a huge part in that success. We’re excited. Hopefully we’re going to have time to celebrate it.”