Is Swayman still a lock as a U.S. goalie?
Before the season, the U.S. goalies seemed like the easiest selections: Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, Jake Oettinger of the Dallas Stars and Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins. Thatcher Demko of the Canucks would have been right there too if not for a knee injury that has kept him out all season.
Well, Swayman missed training camp as a restricted free agent. He finally signed an eight-year contract ($8.25 million average annual value) Oct. 6, but it’s been a rocky start to the season for the Bruins goalie, who is 7-9-2 with a 3.09 GAA and .892 save percentage.
Does that open the door for someone like the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Anthony Stolarz, who is 8-4-2 with a 2.23 GAA and .924 save percentage, or the Seattle Kraken’s Joey Daccord, who is 10-6-1 with a 2.56 GAA and .912 save percentage?
The answer depends on philosophy because Swayman is also a 2026 Olympic hopeful for the United States, whereas it’s not clear if the same can be said for Stolarz and Daccord, or anyone else other than Hellebuyck and Oettinger.
If Swayman goes as the third goalie behind Hellebuyck and Oettinger, he may not play a minute at the 4 Nations Face-Off but will get a close-up look at best-on-best international hockey, which should benefit him in the long run.
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