A Look at the Bruins Depth Charts: Goaltending

The draft is over. The bulk of free agency is over. The Bruins made a trade, signed some unrestricted free agents and also walked away from some players. So, what does the Bruins depth look like now?

Today, we begin a series exploring all the positions beginning with the goaltenders. In the next couple of weeks, we will look at the blueline followed by the forwards.

Both Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark return to man the crease as the Bruins top duo. Swayman will be entering the final year of his entry level contract that carries a cap hit of $925,000. Ullmark will be entering his second season with the Bruins and has 3 years remaining on his deal with a cap hit of $5 Million.

The Bruins moved on from number 3 netminder Troy Grosenick who signed a deal worth $750,000 with the Philadelphia Flyers. To replace him as the new number three, the Bruins signed Keith Kinkaid to a one-year deal that is worth $750,000 at the NHL level and $400,000 at the AHL level.

Kinkaid will likely be handed the starters job in Providence as he will need to remain as sharp as possible should an injury happen to Swayman or Ullmark and he needs to be called up to the big club. He comes with 167 games of NHL experience – compared to 216 between Swayman and Ullmark combined.  

That leaves Kyle Keyser (undrafted free agent signing in 2017) and Brandon Bussi (undrafted free agent signing in 2022) to ride shot gun as the backup. That means one of them is bound for Maine to face rubber in the ECHL and my uneducated guess would be Bussi. It appears that the Bruins are not shy about having their goaltenders get in playing time to face pucks and really, they need to see what they have in Keyser. Hopefully he can have a full and healthy season with the P-Bruins.

Philip Svedeback is fifth on the depth chart (you can make the argument that he’s sixth – see below). He had a great start to his season but injuries took their toll in the end with Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL. He is headed to Providence College next season and could spend the entire four years there. Here’s to hoping that the injuries are all behind him now and he can continue to grow as a goalkeeper.

And that brings us to Reid Dyck who the Bruins selected in the sixth round at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal. Dyck is headed back to the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League where he will get the bulk of the minutes in the crease. There is no rush to sign Dyck to an NHL contract as the Bruins hold his rights until June 1, 2024. One could argue that he may be quicker to get his NHL contract then Svedeback. If that’s how you wish to count depth, by all means do so.

The Providence Bruins also signed free agent goaltender Francois Brassard to a two-way AHL contract which indicates he is heading to the Maine Mariners in the ECHL. He will back up either Keyser or Bussi in Maine. 

The Bruins biggest need is to find a capable backup in their system in the next few years at worst. At best, they need a 1B to go along with Swayman. At one point in time Keyser was that goaltender but as I said, injuries have slowed his development.

Follow me on Twitter @dominictiano