Jeremy Swayman set to reunite with Linus Ullmark, but as on-ice foes
"We're brothers for life.”
For three seasons, Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark established themselves as arguably the best goalie tandem in the NHL.
Beyond that, the duo forged a close friendship — with their on-ice embrace punctuating every Bruins victory as “Dirty Water” bellowed out of the TD Garden speakers.
On Saturday, they’ll meet once again on the frozen sheet off Causeway Street. But this time, it’ll be as divisional rivals.
Barring any unexpected lineup reshuffling, Swayman is expected to face off against Ullmark for the first time in Boston’s home matchup against the Ottawa Senators.
It’ll stand as a chance for Swayman to reunite and compete against his longtime goalie partner — and for Ullmark to exact some revenge against Boston after getting dealt to the Sens in June.
“It still hasn’t hit,” Swayman said Friday of tabbing Ullmark as a divisional opponent. “It still feels like I’ve got his presence around here and the traditions that we had still live on. And that’s with every guy that’s been through this locker room. … We’re brothers for life.”
With both Ullmark and Swayman entrenched on Boston’s depth chart, the Bruins routinely racked up wins over their three years together — posting an overall record of 163-58-25 and averaging 117 points per year.
The presence of Ullmark — who took home the Vezina Trophy in 2022-23 — allowed Swayman to ease into NHL reps and develop on his own timeline, while also serving as a valuable resource in what can be an isolated role on an NHL roster.
“It goes to show what kind of character he has,” Swayman said of Ullmark’s willingness to help him find his footing as a young goalie. “Just his awareness to pick up those guys around him and see what he could help with — with the experiences that he’s gone through, and shed some light so I wouldn’t make the same mistakes or would have a little bit of a better way in different situations.
“I’ll forever be grateful for that and he knows that, and I still will call him if I have questions. And it’s really great to see the success that he’s had and will continue to have because of what he has between the ears.”
Swayman acknowledged that he plans on carving out some time to meet up with Ullmark on Friday once the Senators arrive in Boston. But on Saturday, it will be business as usual for a Bruins team looking to right the ship amid a 7-7-1 start.
Both Swayman and Ullmark have yet to fully settle into their elevated roles in 2024-25. Swayman is 4-5-1 as Boston’s No. 1 netminder with an .894 save percentage, although his numbers have been hewn by a leaky Bruins’ penalty kill.
Among the 66 NHL goalies who have logged at least 100 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time this season, Swayman ranks 10th in save percentage (.936). But he’s also among the league’s worst in save percentage during PK situations (.793).
Ullmark has also labored with Ottawa, especially after missing a few games due to injury. Since returning on Oct. 25, Ullmark has lost four out of his last five games while sporting a .873 save percentage over that stretch.
“I do not know,” Ullmark told reporters in Ottawa on Friday of where he feels his game is at right now. “I do not know if it’s in a good place or a bad place. All I know is that, for me, it’s going to be exciting to go in there tomorrow and battle my heart out.”
Given that both Ullmark and Swayman now don different sweaters, it seems unlikely that the duo will once again embrace on the ice.
At least, one would think.
“I guess you’ll have to wait and see,” Swayman said with a laugh when asked if another post-game hug was in the works. “Keep you on your toes.”
Bruins yielding good returns from Ullmark trade
Boston’s decision to deal Ullmark this offseason revolved around the team’s desire to both elevate Swayman into a No. 1 role and free up cap space to hand him a hefty contract.
But Boston also landed three players in return for the former Vezina Trophy winner: Joonas Korpisalo, Mark Kastelic and a 2024 first-round pick (No. 25 overall) that became Boston College center Dean Letourneau.
While Ullmark’s body of work in Boston was impressive, the Bruins’ return has yielded encouraging results so far, headlined by Kastelic.
“I think his offensive potential is much more surprising than I expected,” Jim Montgomery said of Kastelic. “His compete, his willingness to be hard in all three zones, is something that we had seen when we played against him when he was in Ottawa.”
While Kastelic’s physicality (a team-leading 64 hits) and proficiency in faceoffs (55.0 percent) have been as advertised, he’s also added some much-needing scoring punch in the bottom six — scoring three goals and four points over 15 games.
Kastelic is just four points shy of matching his career-high in scoring already, while his 2.49 points scored per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 play rank second only to Cole Koepke.
Despite concerns over Korpisalo’s viability as Boston’s backup after a disastrous stint in Ottawa last season, the 30-year-old netminder has been steady so far with Boston. Over his last four appearances, Korpisalo is sporting a .933 save percentage — headlined by a shutout win over the Flyers on Nov. 2.
Boston’s most coveted return in the Ullmark trade was that first-round pick, with the Bruins hoping that the 6-foot-7 Letourneau develops into a legitimate top-six pivot in due time. Patience will need to be prescribed for the Eagles forward, as he’s long been tabbed as a project after developing at the prep-school circuit and accelerating a year at BC.
Letourneau has one assist over five games with the Eagles, but should be given ample time to develop over the next few years under Greg Brown and his staff.
Giving Back
The Bruins traded in their helmets for Santa hats on Friday afternoon, as the team took part in their annual holiday toy shopping event at the nearby Target in Watertown. As part of the festivities, the Bruins purchased $20,000 in combined donations from the players and Boston Bruins Foundation — with that haul of gifts to be given as presents to children in local hospitals who are unable to celebrate the holidays at home.
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After posting a 4-3 overtime win on Thursday against Calgary, Boston’s forward lines and D pairs remained the same during Friday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena.
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Shifting Pavel Zacha back over to center on a line with David Pastrnak paid dividends against the Flames. Not only did Zacha score his first 5-on-5 goal of the season (and his first tally since Oct. 8), but Pastrnak recorded a pair of 5-on-5 assists.
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