Friday Four: Bruins' Swayman still a step behind after missing camp

The Friday Four is a collection of thoughts and information on some intriguing player storylines from around the NHL. On deck this week is:

Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins

“Show me a good goalie and I’ll show you a good coach.”

This old hockey adage doesn’t fully or fairly describe Jim Montgomery’s tenure with the Boston Bruins, as his success was due to more than just that, but when the goaltending faltered, Montgomery never stood a chance. 

During Montgomery’s time in Boston, Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman were the backbone of the team. The Bruins Presidents’ Trophy campaign in 2022-23 was fueled by a Jennings Trophy win by Swayman and Ullmark and the duo again powered Boston last season, finishing third-overall in team save percentage. But Ullmark was dealt to Ottawa last summer, leaving Swayman the keys to the Bruins crease, and so far, it’s been a borderline disaster.

Swayman is sitting with an .884 save percentage after averaging a mark of .917 over the past three seasons. He currently ranks 71^st in goals-saved above expected out of 75 eligible goalies this season. Last year he was fourth best, saving more than 18 goals above expected. Swayman has also allowed 12 goals in his past two games and owns just six quality starts. It’s not that Swayman is no longer bailing the Bruins out, he’s been a huge part of the problem. 

It would be easy to pin Swayman’s struggles on the fact he missed all of training camp while trying to work out a contract with management, and it’s hard to deny that it’s at least partly responsible for his rough start. This probably isn’t the best comparison, but I remember when William Nylander’s contract negotiations stretched well into the season several years back. He never got close to getting on track and had the worst statistical season of his career. Now Swayman didn’t miss nearly as much time as Nylander or any regular season games, but you’d imagine it’s even tougher for a goalie to get into a rhythm after missing camp than a skater. Plus, you also can’t discount the impact that the uncertainty surrounding Swayman had on the team in general. 

It's also important to point out that this year was extra important for Swayman to start out at full speed and at his sharpest. After being in a tandem for the entirety of his career thus far, 2024-25 was going to be the first time Swayman had to handle a full starter’s workload. Last year Swayman appeared in a career-high 44 games, and this season he’s already up 14 starts. That puts him on pace for 55 on the campaign and to put things in perspective, Swayman didn’t make his 14^th start last season until December 13th. His workload has essentially been accelerated by nearly a month. 

What’s perhaps most concerning about Swayman’s play right now is that the Bruins actually haven’t been that bad in some key defensive metrics. Most notably in high-danger chances against, where they still sit eighth-overall in the NHL for fewest allowed, compared to last season when they were 21^st in the league. Swayman made up for some deficiencies in that area a year ago, but in 2024-25 the Bruins have a lot less room for error. 

With all that said, it would be unfair to put the entirety of Boston’s struggles on Swayman. The Bruins rank 31^st in goals-for and 32^nd on the power play. David Pastrnak is on pace for only 31 goals, Brad Marchand just 55 points and big off-season signing Elias Lindholm has three goals. Meanwhile, Boston had high hopes that Nikita Zadorov could fill a top-four role on the blue line, but he’s struggled and been relegated to the third pair. 

Even at the best of times, Boston’s roster simply isn’t as deep as most other perennial contenders. They rely on Pastrnak, Marchand, Charlie McAvoy and their goaltending to overcome any deficiencies they may have. That simply isn’t happening right now and Swayman’s play is the most notable and impactful drop off. This team isn’t built to win without elite goaltending and Bruins management has to have some real concerns about the eight-year, $8.25 million pact they just handed Swayman. 

What if Swayman can’t handle a number one goaltender’s workload? What if he isn’t good enough to carry the team when they’re struggling? What if he can’t live up to the contract? These are questions almost no one thought they’d be asking a little more than a month into the year but if the Bruins have any hope of salvaging their season, Swayman is going to have to answer them. 

Connor Bedard, Chicago Blackhawks

Sophomore slumps are tough to avoid, even if you’re Connor Bedard. 

The Chicago Blackhawks forward seems to have hit a bit of a wall, despite tallying two points on Tuesday. That was only Bedard’s second multi-point in more than a month and it came following a stretch where he posted just a single point in five games. He’s also posted just one shot or less in five of his past six contests. Bedard is still on pace for roughly the same number of points as he posted last year, but 2023-24’s mark came in just 68 games. 

Chicago recently shifted Bedard to the wing, in hopes of taking some of the pressure off and freeing him up for a little more offence. The problem is the Blackhawks roster is ultra thin, and Bedard is skating with Jason Dickinson and Joey Anderson right now. Not exactly a duo that’s going to help Bedard fill the scoresheet on a nightly basis. 

That is essentially the biggest challenge facing Bedard at the moment, he simply doesn’t have enough talent to play with. When you think of some other generational players that came into the league, they often had other elite players around them to aid their development. Wayne Gretzky had Mark Messier, Evgeni Malkin quickly followed Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid was paired with Leon Draisaitl. Bedard has nothing even in the same stratosphere as those players. 

To be fair, the Blackhawks did try to provide Bedard reinforcements. They signed Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen this summer and hoped a healthy Taylor Hall would help, but none of them have moved the needle in any significant way. Bertuzzi has just one goal in eight games and at one point was demoted to the fourth line, Teravainen has been inconsistent and has three points in his past 15 outings, while Hall was recently made a healthy scratch. 

The other issue is a major lack of center depth. Chicago really doesn’t have any good options down the middle beyond Bedard and they’ve even been forced to use Nick Foligno in that role lately out of desperation. We saw the San Jose Sharks be proactive and sign Alex Wennberg to go along with Mikael Granlund at centre, which helps take the pressure off someone like Macklin Celebrini. The Seattle Kraken did the same with Chandler Stephenson, freeing up Matty Beniers and Shane Wright to take on less heavy minutes. Bedard doesn’t have that luxury and it puts a ton of weight on his shoulders. It’s almost impossible for him to avoid the opposition’s best defensive pair and toughest checkers. 

It's going to be tough for Chicago to fix this problem in-season, unless they plan on attempting a hockey trade that would net them a solid player in return. The Blackhawks figure to still be looking for future assets in any deal, though, meaning Bedard’s likely going to have to get through another season with a mediocre supporting cast. Chicago is going to have little choice but to get very aggressive in free agency and pursue an impact talent for support. 

Bedard is going to be their biggest investment for hopefully the next 20 years, so Chicago has to start doing everything it can to help him grow. 

Dylan Strome, Washington Capitals

When Nicklas Backstrom stepped away from the game about a year ago because of injuries, it left a massive hole in the Washington Capitals lineup. To be fair, his hip issues left a need at the top of Washington’s forward group long before he officially stopped playing, as it had clearly been some time since Backstrom was anywhere close to the player he was in his prime. Backstrom was the team’s No. 1 centre for more than a decade and assisted on 279 of Ovechkin’s goals. Eventually, Evgeny Kuznetsov took over the job but wasn’t consistent enough to hold it and was dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes last season, before landing in the KHL this year. 

That forced Dylan Strome to take on the Caps top centre role over the past two seasons more out of necessity than anything else. A former third-overall pick of the Arizona Coyotes, Strome had an interesting path to make it to Washington. He was dealt to Chicago in 2018, but the Blackhawks never made him a qualifying offer following the 2021-22 season, despite Strome scoring 22 goals in 69 games. The Capitals were then able to swoop in and sign Strome as a free agent and to say it’s worked out swimmingly would be a major understatement. 

The 27-year-old had at least 65 points in his first two Capitals campaigns, which would already be enough of a bargain for his $5 million salary, but this year he’s giving Washington even more bang for its buck. Strome is up to 28 points on the season, putting him in the top-10 in league scoring overall and he ranks third in the NHL when it comes to assists. He suddenly looks like a bona fide No. 1 centre and seems to have rejuvenated Ovechkin’s career. Strome has actually assisted on 12 of Ovechkin’s 15 goals and is a big reason why the Caps superstar seemed destined to break Wayne Gretzky’s goal record this season before his recent injury. 

Washington also went out and acquired Pierre-Luc Dubois this past off-season, potentially to play with Ovechkin if necessary. Strome, though, hasn’t even given Dubois any opportunity to move up the lineup and has cemented himself as the first-line pivot. That, plus a recent addition of Lars Eller, has made the Caps much stronger down the middle this season and given them a more balanced attack. The second unit of Dubois, Tom Wilson and Connor McMichael has been excellent, while Jakub Vrana and Andrew Mangiapane are flanking Eller, giving the Capitals forward depth it hasn’t had in quite some time. 

Ovechkin also isn’t the only one Strome is elevating. Aliaksei Protas is averaging nearly a point per game playing on Strome’s wing as well. As a whole, Washington has gone from 28^th in goals-for a year ago to second in the league in 2024-25, averaging well over four goals per game. The team overall has played really well but a large part of their offensive success is because Strome has taken his game to another level. 

One of the most important attributes of any player is how much better can they make the players around them. Ovechkin clearly looked like he was declining last season and his numbers dropped significantly in multiple offensive categories. Coming into this season at age 39, it’s fair to say expectations were lower for Ovechkin than maybe they’ve ever been. Many felt surpassing Gretzky in 2024-25 was a long shot at best but now thanks in large part to Strome, Ovechkin is leading the NHL in goals once again. 

Maybe Strome simply didn’t fit with Chicago’s rebuilding plan or they were worried about what salary he might command, but their loss has been Washington’s gain and he’s been the missing piece to their top-six puzzle. Caps fans aren’t going to easily forget about what players like Backstrom and Kuznetsov meant to the franchise, especially when both were so pivotal in a championship run, but Strome has made the transition an easy one to digest. 

Kiefer Sherwood, Vancouver Canucks

With J.T. Miller away from the team and Brock Boeser injured, the Vancouver Canucks are getting help from a surprising source. 

Kiefer Sherwood’s stock is rising rapidly and he’s been pushed up to the top line with the suddenly surging Elias Pettersson, scoring goals in back-to-back games. He also posted a seven-shot outing Tuesday night. Sherwood’s real value is for hits though, where he’s on pace for a whopping 524, which would obliterate the single-season record set be Jeremy Lauzon last year with 386. 

Sherwood has been a good find and bargain for the Canucks, making just $1.5 million on a two-year deal signed this summer after stops in Anaheim, Colorado and Nashville. His best season was last year when he scored 10 times in 68 games for the Predators and he’s already halfway to that total in 18 contests in Vancouver. 

Even with a full-strength Canucks lineup, there may still be an opportunity for Sherwood to stick in the top-six. Miller, Boeser and Pettersson are mainstays, while Jake DeBrusk and Connor Garland appear to have carved out roles as well this season, leaving one spot open for someone to grab. Pius Suter has had opportunities in the past but hasn’t been able to hold the job, Jonathan Lekkerimaki has slowed some after a good start and probably still has some developing to do in the AHL, and someone like Dakota Joshua may be a better fit on the third line. 

That could open the door for Sherwood to stick for longer than just a cameo appearance and there’s one other thing working in his favour, too. Pettersson has really turned his game around lately and seems to have decent chemistry with Sherwood, so the Canucks would be wise not to mess with it. It doesn’t always have to be super-skilled player that helps get someone like Pettersson going, but often a physical player that brings energy and creates space can be just as impactful. 

If Sherwood is going to break the hits record, getting as much ice time as possible is going to be key. A long stay in the top-six would certainly help with that and may mean Lauzon’s reign as the league’s hit king could be a short one.