The Boston Bruins have entered one of the most critical offseasons for the franchise in a long time. They have the No. 7 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft -- their highest first-rounder since 2011 -- and several roster weaknesses to address in free agency and/or the trade market.
But the quickest way for the Bruins to return to contender status in the Eastern Conference after a disastrous 2024-25 season is goaltender Jeremy Swayman rediscovering his All-Star form.
And that's why his performance for Team USA at the 2025 IIHF World Championships over the last few weeks is such an encouraging sign for the Bruins.
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SIGN UP HERE The United States defeated Switzerland 1-0 in the gold medal game in Sweden on Sunday. The U.S. claimed its first gold medal at the World Championship since 1933, and its first men's hockey gold at a major international tournament since the 1996 World Cup.
Swayman played a major role in Team USA's run to the gold, including a 25-save shutout in the championship game. He made seven starts in the tournament and won all of them, including a 3-0 record in the knockout rounds. Overall, he finished with a .921 save percentage and a 1.61 GAA.
There were a lot of reasons why the Bruins fell from contender to bottom-dweller in the East this past season. They couldn't score enough goals -- especially on the power play -- on a consistent basis. Injuries to key players were a factor. Swayman's sizable dip in performance was a huge deal, too.
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Swayman missed all of training camp due to a contract dispute and joined the team a few days before the regular season began after signing an eight-year, $66 million deal. He went 3-4-1 with a .884 save percentage over the first month of the season. He finished the campaign with a sub-.900 save percentage for the first time in his career.
Swayman played at a top-10 goalie level for most of the previous three seasons. But he ranked in the bottom tier of netminders in 2024-25.
Even though winning the World Championship is not as significant as a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, seeing Swayman regain his top-tier form against quality competition with a gold medal at stake is unquestionably a positive for him and should be a bit of a confidence booster.
And it sounds like the experience has rejuvenated the 26-year-old goalie.
"It's an honor every time. I couldn't be happier to be at this tournament, especially based on the year I had," Swayman told Remy Mastey of The Hockey News last week. "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."
Even if the Bruins add a legit goal scorer to their top-six forward group in the offseason, and even if their roster is mostly healthy next season while a couple young players take meaningful steps forward in their development, they will still need Swayman to play like a top-10 or top-15 goalie to get back to the playoffs. Only three of the 16 teams that qualified for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs didn't finish in the top half of team save percentage during the regular season.
Great goaltending solves a lot of problems, and the Bruins know that better than most franchises with Tim Thomas, Tuukka Rask, Linus Ullmark and Swayman all playing at a high level in net over the last 15-20 years.
Swayman is a much better goalie than what we saw from him last season. And if he can gain some confidence from this World Championship run with Team USA, it could turn out to be the most profound offseason development for the Bruins.