The Boston Bruins have a new goalie battle to watch during the final stages of the pre-season.
With Jeremy Swayman not expected to be signed for the start of the season, Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery has already confirmed that Joonas Korpisalo will be the club's opening-night starter.
With this, the expectation was that Brandon Bussi would be the Bruins' clear backup goalie. However, due to recent events, this no longer appears to be guaranteed.
On Wednesday (Oct. 2), the Bruins claimed Jiri Patera from the Vancouver Canucks. With this, they now have another backup option to consider before their regular-season begins on Oct. 8 against the Florida Panthers.
Patera, 25, appeared in 25 games last season for the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL, posting an 11-10-4 record, a .903 save percentage (SV%), and a 2.99 goals-against average (GAA). He also has eight games of NHL experience, recording a 3-3-1 record, a .902 SV%, and a 3.57 GAA.
Bussi, on the other hand, played in 41 games last season for the Providence Bruins, where he had a 23-10-5 record, a .913 SV%, and a 2.67 GAA. He also had a 22-5-4 record, a .924 SV%, and a 2.40 GAA with Providence in 2022-23. Unlike Patera, he has yet to appear in an NHL regular-season game.
If Patera was placed on waivers, the Canucks would have the chance to reclaim him. However, Bussi also needs to clear waivers before being re-assigned to Providence, so the Bruins have a tough decision to make.
It will be very fascinating to see what happens with this late training camp goalie battle from here.
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