As tension builds in Beantown over the status of Boston Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman, more fuel was thrown on the fire Wednesday when the team claimed a goaltender on waivers.
Jiri Patera, waived by the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, will make his way east to join the Bruins.
The 25-year-old was drafted by the Vegas Golden Knights in the sixth round of the 2017 draft, spending three seasons in their organization. He drew in for eight NHL games, posting a 3-3-1 record, a .902 save percentage and a 3.57 GAA, but spent the majority of his time in the American Hockey League. With Vegas’ affiliate, he dew in for 85 games, posting a 37-40-6 record, a .907 save percentage and a .2.92 goals against average.
Patera hit free agency this past summer, inking a two-year, $775,000 deal with the Canucks, who were hoping to add depth to their goaltending ranks as Thatcher Demko works his way back from injury. Now, he’ll do the same for a Bruins organization thin in the crease.
With Swayman, a restricted free agent, still awaiting a new deal and not taking part in their pre-season, the Bruins have Joonas Korpisalo, acquired from the Senators in a trade that sent Linus Ullmark the other way, Brandon Bussi and Michael DiPietro as the only other goaltenders under contract. Now, Boston has some insulation for the time being.
Here’s more on Patera from Daily Faceoff’s Colton Davies:
The Prague, Czechia native was originally selected No. 161 overall by Vegas in the 2017 NHL Draft. Patera played for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the United States Hockey League (USHL) following his draft year, he put up a record of 13-13-0. Patera then made the transition to the Western Hockey League (WHL) where he spent the next two seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings. Following his WHL tenure, he played for Ceske Budejovice HC in Czechia. After a 2-12-0 start in the Czech Republic, he returned to North America making his AHL debut with the Silver Knights.
Potential landing spots for Swayman
Amid the public barbs between the Bruins organization and Swayman’s camp, rumbles have begun about the possibility of the team trading the netminder.
Any package that would come the other way would undoubtedly be significant, and likely the last thing the team would want given their prior trade of Ullmark this past offseason.
And over at Daily Faceoff, Mike Gould pondered four teams that would make sense as a potential next home for Swayman: the Chicago Blackhawks, the Colorado Avalanche, the Detroit Red Wings, and the Philadelphia Flyers.
Chicago would have the requisite cap space to swing a deal and a lack of up-and-coming goaltending prospects, and while the Avalanche may not have the same financial space, their urgency to find help in the crease could change that.
“The Avs simply didn’t get the saves they needed to go on a long playoff run last season,” Gould wrote. “They proved themselves more than capable of winning games without a true top-tier goaltender during their run to the Stanley Cup in 2022, but that was with both Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin in the lineup throughout the playoffs.
“Colorado’s lineup just isn’t as strong as it once was. A goaltender like Swayman would do a lot to paper over the cracks in their foundation.”
The Red Wings, meanwhile, are a team opting for the committee approach with four uninpiring options in Cam Talbot, Ville Husso, Alex Lyon and Sebastian Cossa, but “Adding a goaltender of Swayman’s caliber would work wonders toward bolstering the Red Wings’ aspirations as legitimate contenders-to-be,” he added.
The Flyers have questions of their own in the blue paint, and while they may have patched up a rocky relationship with Alexei Kolosov, their other options, Ivan Fedotov and Samuel Ersson, are unproven at the NHL level.
“Would the Bruins have any appetite to send their prized young goaltender barely 300 miles away to Philly?,” Gould pondered. “It’s certainly tough to picture Swayman trading in his black and gold uniform for an orange one. But the Flyers have a bit of money to spend, they absolutely have a need for a legit starter, and it’s very easy to imagine John Tortorella rushing into Danny Briere’s office to endorse a move for a goaltending upgrade. It’s a fascinating prospect.”
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
