NHL’s Top Issues Facing The Boston Bruins: Swayman, the Lindholm and Young Forwards
Every team has topics of discussion that could affect the rest of the NHL. This new team-by-team series addresses those issues. THN.com kicked off this series by looking at the Anaheim Ducks, and we’re now asking three important questions for the Boston Bruins. 1. Can Jeremy Swayman handle a bigger workload? Star goalie Swayman took a competitive step up this past season, posting a stellar 2.53 goals-against average and .916 save percentage in 44 regular-season appearances.
The 25-year-old is entering a new phase of his four-year NHL career – becoming Boston’s clear-cut No. 1 netminder after the Bruins traded Linus Ullmark to Ottawa and becoming handsomely compensated for his new status. Last season, Swayman earned $3.475 million, but he’s currently an RFA and needs a sizeable raise. That pay bump will also increase what’s expected of him, especially now that Ullmark is no longer a Bruin. In Ullmark’s place is veteran Joonas Korpisalo, but the general feeling is Swayman will carry a new career-high workload in 2024-25 – something in the area of at least 50 games played.
Swayman will be playing in front of a deeper, tougher Boston defense corps, but he’ll be under the spotlight and feeling more pressure than at any point in his pro career. Swayman shouldn’t see a drop-off in play, but his new salary will only ratchet up what B’s fans, media and management want from him.
2. What will center Elias Lindholm’s impact be in his first year as a Bruin? Boston’s biggest lineup change this summer was adding veteran pivot Elias Lindholm, now under contract at a $7.75-million cap hit for the next seven years. Lindholm didn’t exactly set the world on fire last season between the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks, combining for 15 goals and 44 points in 75 games. But he’s now the Bruins’ top center, and Boston brass will hope for a return to the form that saw him post 42 goals and 82 points for Calgary in 2021-22.
Certainly, Lindholm will get every opportunity to shake off his subpar season, but he will also need to be about a point-per-game player in the playoffs. Last post-season, he amassed five goals and 10 points in 13 games for the Canucks. The Bruins will be satisfied they made the right investment in Lindholm’s services if he can get at least that much production in the playoffs, if not better. Lindholm’s focus on a two-way elite game is also important here, but considering he’s now Boston’s second-highest-paid forward and third-highest-paid player, he’s got to justify that investment. If he fails, the Bruins could be in a life-or-death battle for a wild-card playoff berth in the highly competitive Atlantic Division.
3. Will Bruins youngsters Matthew Poitras, Morgan Geekie and Fabian Lysell step up? Boston’s prospect pipeline has been depleted as they’ve dealt away talent and battled for playoff supremacy in recent years.
That puts more pressure on Bruins youngsters, including 21-year-old Fabian Lysell, 26-year-old Morgan Geekie and 20-year-old Poitras. Lysell had a solid second season in the AHL last year, putting up 15 goals and 50 points in 56 games. Geekie posted career NHL highs with 17 goals and 39 points in 76 games with Boston last season. And Poitras had a decent rookie NHL season with five goals and 15 points in 33 games with the Bruins before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery in February. At the very least, Boston brass will hope for continued development from Lysell and Poitras, while Geekie will need to produce at least as much at last season in the final year of his contract before becoming an RFA next summer.
If Boston can’t get improvement from that trio, it will put much more pressure on the team’s higher-end veterans. And in the Atlantic, that will probably mean the Bruins will be in a brutal battle for the third or fourth spot in the division. But if they do get step-up years from throughout their lineup, Boston can once again be a top-two team in the Atlantic.
