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Is missing training camp to blame for Jeremy Swayman’s poor start this season?
"I don't think missing training camp helps anyone."
When Jeremy Swayman and the Bruins finally ended their contractual rock fight on Oct. 6 via an eight-year, $66 million contract, the 25-year-old goaltender noted in his press conference that he had a “plane to catch.”
Hours after fielding questions, Swayman was on a flight with the rest of his teammates to Florida. Boston’s season opener against the Panthers was just two days later.
The Bruins might have locked down their young netminder on a long-term deal. But those prolonged contract talks resulted in Swayman missing all of Boston’s training camp in September and early October.
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Even though Swayman spent those weeks training at Boston University, it was to be expected for there to be some rust on the promising goalie to open the year.
That malaise has gone on for far longer than anyone expected — much to the dismay of a freefalling Bruins roster.
“I think it could only go up from here,” Swayman said Monday when asked of the state of his game.
Boston’s third-straight loss on Monday to a rebuilding Blue Jackets team represented a new low, with Swayman’s stat line taking another hit.
After relinquishing five goals off of 29 total shots against Columbus, Swayman is now 5-7-2 on the season with an .884 save percentage.
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Entering Monday’s matchup, Swayman was already 49th among 58 qualified NHL goalies (minimum five games played) in goals saved above expected at -4.6 (per MoneyPuck).
Speaking after the loss, Jim Montgomery was candid about what impact missing camp has had on Swayman’s play out of the gate.
“I don’t think missing training camp helps anyone,” Montgomery said. “That’s why you have training camps. The only guy I’ve seen — Tim Raines with the Expos — as an Expos fan growing up — he missed the first month … I think he went 3-for-4 with two home runs and five RBI against the Mets.
“I mean, that’s a different sport. I think it’s tough to get the rhythm and the expectation. But by no means do I think today is Jeremy Swayman not having training camp. We’re long into that now.”
Swayman shared his head coach’s commentary as far as believing he’s past the initial challenge of getting back up to game speed, at least as it pertained to Monday’s showing. Still, the results speak for themselves for a netminder whose dip in play has come at the worst possible time for his club.
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“I think I’ve had enough time now to adapt and get back to things,” Swayman said. “I think the biggest thing that I lost out on was this group, and I’m really trying to to engulf just being in a room again and being a leader and I want my play to speak for that. So I need to step up, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
The Bruins have multiple factors in play that have led to the team’s 8-9-3 start. A sizable scoring drought — both at even-strength action and especially on the power play — have given both Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo little margin for error.
But Swayman’s knack for turning aside Grade-A shots and keeping his team off the ropes has also been lost for most of the fall.
Despite the elevated expectations facing both the 2024-25 Bruins and Swayman entering the new season, the University of Maine product stressed that he doesn’t believe any added pressure is eroding his game.
“I think pressure is the wrong word,” Swayman said. “I think ‘standard’ is the word I would use, and the standard that I have myself held to is not met right now. And again, that’s what’s going to happen in our careers. I know that a lot of veteran guys that I’ve looked up to and followed have been through the ups and downs and and right now I’m in one.
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“I’m going to do whatever I can to get out of it. I know it’s going to be a really good feeling. And what I can bring to the rink every day, what I can bring from home every day, is going to compound, and that’s when things are going to start going the right way. I know how to get out of it, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
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