Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman explains the ‘blessing’ that came from a tough 2024-25 season

"You have to experience it in order to go through that, and that was a huge learning curve for me."

Jeremy Swayman is looking to bounce back from a tough 2024-25 season. David L Ryan/Globe Staff

August 19, 2025

3 minutes to read

The 2024-25 campaign was not kind to both the Boston Bruins and Jeremy Swayman.

After making the postseason for eight-straight seasons, Boston bottomed out last season — finishing the year with a 33-39-10 record and a minus-50 goal differential.

While injuries loomed large over the Bruins’ struggles last season, Boston was also hindered by major regressions from several key players — headlined by Jeremy Swayman.

Fresh off of finally ending an arduous contract holdout by signing an eight-year, $66 million deal just before the start of the regular season, Swayman was expected to elevate his game as Boston’s unquestioned No. 1 netminder following an offseason trade of Linus Ullmark.

But after carrying Boston to a playoff series win over Toronto in April 2024, Swayman struggled to continue that momentum into his first season as the Bruins’ franchise goalie.

After sporting a career .919 save percentage in his first four seasons with Boston (to go along with a .933 save percentage in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs), Swayman closed out the 2024-25 campaign with an .892 save percentage.

Boston’s defensive structure took on plenty of water last season, especially after season-ending injuries to both Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm. Still, Swayman was unable to bail his team out in critical moments — ranking 63rd out of 73 qualified goalies (10 games played) with a -9.1 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck.

It wasn’t the season anyone on the Bruins’ roster was expecting, especially Swayman.

“There were ups and downs last year and I took it to heart,” Swayman said on the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon on Monday, as transcribed by MassLive’s Lauren Campbell. “I don’t like losing. I don’t like not making the playoffs and that’s a standard I hold myself to.”

Even though Swayman held himself accountable for his dip in play after the 2024-25 season ended, he acknowledged that it was a struggle at times to remain even-keeled during a season where momentum was hard to come by.

The Bruins only had one stretch during the entire 2024-25 season where the team won three or more games in a row.

“If I was down, I wanted to make sure I was getting up and making sure I was falling forward and doing whatever I can to help my teammates and my team,” Swayman said. “That’s something you can’t replicate. You can’t buy it at Target.”

The Bruins’ missteps in 2024-25 cost the Original Six franchise dearly, with Boston ultimately trading away key fixtures in Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo, and others during an extensive roster tear-down at the trade deadline in March.

The Bruins will be starting from scratch in 2025-26 with David Pastrnak, McAvoy, and Swayman now leading a reworked roster that should be incorporating plenty of youth into the depth chart moving forward.

But as painful as last season was for all involved, Swayman believes the growing pains he endured in 2024-25 will make him a better player.

“You have to experience it in order to go through that, and that was a huge learning curve for me,” Swayman said, per Campbell. “I couldn’t be more grateful to have it. And I’ll tell you what, it’s a blessing that I was able to go through that and have the support of my teammates, my family and the city that just never wavered in belief.”

A clean slate would be welcome for both the Bruins and Swayman, especially now a year removed from last offseason’s contentious contract spat.

The 26-year-old netminder also has some momentum on his side entering the 2025-26 season — especially after helping Team USA win its first Worlds title in 92 years after going 7-0 with a .921 save percentage during the international tournament in May.

“I couldn’t be happier to be at this tournament, especially based on the year I had,” Swayman said after Team USA’s win in Sweden, courtesy of The Hockey News. “I feel like a completely new human being and a completely new goalie. The guys in this room have been so incredible for just supporting me, and it’s just been a contagious locker room of joy. I just feel like a completely new human being.”