Last week, the absence of the entire Boston Bruins’ goalie tandem forced 22-year-old goaltender Jeremy Swayman to make his NHL debut. He stopped 40 of 42 shots faced to secure a key 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Less than a month ago, it was 23-year-old Daniel Vladar who was getting his first NHL start for the Bruins. He, too, had notched a 2-1 win, saving 34 of 35 shots to top the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Over the past few years, Boston has been fortunate enough to have two steady goaltenders in Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak. But with both ageing quickly, the future of the tandem is uncertain. Adding Vladar and Swayman to the equation raises further questions for the Bruins’ netminders in this season and beyond. From both short- and long-term perspectives, here are some ideas on what the tandem’s future iterations could look like.
Future of Bruins’ Goalie Tandem is Taking Shape
Remainder of the Season
How the Bruins’ goalie tandem operates for the rest of this season depends mainly on Rask and Halak’s health. At this point, no one except the Bruins really knows when Rask will be able to come back. He initially appeared to injure his back on March 9 but reaggravated it when he tried to return 18 days later. There’s always the dangerous possibility that he could reinjure himself when he comes back next. On the other hand, Halak’s return time is a bit more predictable, given that he’s out with COVID. Barring any intense symptoms or lingering effects, he should be back after his mandatory 14-day quarantine. That would be around April 19.
So until April 19 – and maybe a few games beyond, if Halak isn’t fully recovered by then – Vladar and Swayman will likely be seeing a lot of action. Given the young netminders’ excellence thus far, the Bruins should feel comfortable allowing them to take over for the time being.
Playoffs
Come playoff time (assuming that the Bruins hang onto their fourth-place spot), Rask and Halak should be back. Rask would be the safe choice for starting goaltender. He has a .926 save percentage in 93 playoff games with the Bruins and provides a steady, familiar veteran presence in the net. But although the backup position typically belongs to Halak, Vladar and Swayman might put a wrench in the plans. In nine playoff games with Boston, Halak had four wins and five losses for a .902 save percentage – not exactly the kind of performance the Bruins need to make a deep run. If one of the young goaltenders maintains substantially better numbers during the regular season, there’s a chance that he could go into the playoffs as Rask’s backup in place of Halak.
If Rask’s injury sidelines him for the playoffs, though, the Bruins will definitely want to take Halak. Although a Vladar-Swayman tandem might work during the regular season, playoff hockey is an entirely different beast. Exposing two young goaltenders with less than a single season of NHL experience to such high-stakes competition without a veteran to guide them would be incredibly risky. In this case, Vladar or Swayman would probably take the starting role, and Halak would play in his typical backup role. That way, the Bruins would have a young, promising goaltender to shoulder the majority of the workload and an experienced veteran to help him navigate the changes and unique pressures of playoff hockey.
Offseason/Next Season
The offseason is where things may get dicey. Both Rask and Halak’s contracts only last until the end of this season, leaving them unrestricted free agents for 2021-22. Together, they account for 9.25 million dollars against the cap – Rask at seven million, Halak at 2.25. Given their ages and cap hits, the Bruins probably won’t be willing to bring both back, but they’ll want to keep one of them around for stability and veteran presence. This leaves two main scenarios that could play out over the offseason.
The first and more likely solution is dropping Halak. It wouldn’t save as much cap space as letting Rask go, but Halak is a year older and more replaceable. Rask has been steady for years with the Bruins, so they’d be hesitant to lose him. In this case, Rask would probably stay on as the starter with either Vladar or Swayman as his backup. If the Bruins feel particularly high on the younger netminder, they could implement a 1A-1B setup to give him a larger share of the workload.
However, there’s a small chance that Bruins will go the opposite direction and let go of Rask. Such a move would free up more cap space and might make sense if Rask’s injury will affect him long-term. But if Halak is the veteran Boston keeps, he likely won’t take the starting position. After all, he’s a 35-year-old netminder who has played the majority of his career as a backup. At this point, a sudden increase in starts wouldn’t benefit him. Instead, Boston would probably focus on developing Vladar or Swayman as the starter.
Later On
In a few years, the Bruins will likely have moved on from Halak and Rask. As long as Vladar and Swayman continue to hold up in NHL-level competition, they’ll be set to take over the tandem.
The interesting thing about the Bruins’ up-and-coming goaltenders is that they are extremely close in just about every way. Swayman is just 22 years old to Vladar’s 23. Vladar has a .922 save percentage and has played 4 NHL games. Swayman has a .929 save percentage in 3. This is a good thing for the Bruins because it means they have two young, promising netminders. But it also means that there is no significant difference in age, experience, or talent to separate them. Admittedly, it’s nearly impossible to predict the netminders’ development through the next two or three years. But the more games Vladar and Swayman play, the easier it will be to figure out what form the tandem will take.
Overall, Boston is extremely fortunate in the goalie department. Most teams in the NHL struggle to find even two decent netminders, let alone four. Regardless of how the Bruins’ goalie tandem ends up looking, they have a bright future in Vladar and Swayman. It’ll be exciting to see how the young netminders develop through next season and beyond.
Main Photo:
