Bruins GM reveals goalie plan after Linus Ullmark trade

When the Bruins traded Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators, it left a lot of questions at the goalie position. Boston acquired Joonas Korpisalo in the deal, but he was statistically one of the NHL’s worst goalies in the 2023-24 season.

Brandon Bussi has played well in Providence, but has yet to see action in an NHL game. So when it comes to who will be Jeremy Swayman’s backup next season, general manager Don Sweeney didn’t rule anything out.

“I don’t want to lose sight of Brandon in the sense that he’s paid his dues,” Sweeney told reporters in Las Vegas on Thursday ahead of the 2024 NHL Draft. “He wants an opportunity in the National Hockey League. If he beats out — in this case in all likelihood — Joonas, then we’ll have to give him the opportunity.

“Joonas has obviously played at a high level and been a starter,” Sweeney added. “The ability to compliment Jeremy, to be able to push Jeremy and want the net himself, I think is generally a good competitive atmosphere. It’s what Jeremy has been used to since he’s been in the National Hockey League, and he’s earned everything that’s come his way.”

Bussi signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Bruins earlier this month with a cap hit of $775,000. Korpisalo has four years remaining on his deal and carries a $3 million cap hit.

Swayman will be the team’s No. 1 goalie, and will likely take on a bigger workload next year. Sweeney indicated Swayman would like to play upwards of 50 games. But it will depend on how much his backup can handle.

The backup job sounds like it’s Korpisalo’s to lose, and there will be a goalie competition beginning in training camp.

“Well, it’ll start right in training camp and the condition that (Bussi’s) in. He’ll obviously play exhibition games. And his body work will suggest whether or not — as it will with Joonas — in terms of where he’s at,” Sweeney said. “It’s a competitive industry. It’s no different than some of the hard decisions we made last year, when Johnny Beecher came up and Matty Poitras came up and played very well, and it forced us to make some tough decisions. And that’s part of the game. That’s internal competition you hope. And I think Brandon will be geared to do that.”

Swayman took a big step forward last season and was the Bruins’ go-to goalie during their playoff run — playing all but one game before Boston was eliminated by the Florida Panthers in the second round.