After a franchise-altering trade deadline, the Boston Bruins picked up a 4-0 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 9. Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman was the main reason for the Original Six club's victory, as he stopped all 26 Lightning shots he faced.
While speaking with ESPN's Emily Kaplan following the game, Swayman opened up about how much the Bruins are going to miss Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, and the rest of the players that were dealt.
"We're going to miss those guys so much," Swayman said. "They led the groundwork, Emily, and it's never going to be the same without them, but it has to be up to us that have been there with them to continue their legacy and understand that next man up mentality and make them proud... It's just so good to see the guys that came in today. What a seamless transition. They know the spot we're in, and I'm really excited for the group that we have, and we just miss the hell out of the guys that are not here anymore."
Swayman then discussed how hard it was to see so many of his former teammates get traded.
"It's tough," Swayman said. "It's a business, and you can see that, but there are tears going when you see your boys you're practicing with 30 minutes earlier, and you're just excited to get dinner with them that night, and they're gone. It's an incredible wave of emotions that you really can't explain. It's not fair, and you know what? It just shows what kind of human beings we had in this locker room, and I'm going to miss them a ton, but they're stuck with me for life."
It is entirely understandable that Swayman is sad that so many of his former key players have been dealt. Bruins general manager Don Sweeney completely switched up the roster during the club's fire sale, as there are now just six players remaining from the 65-win roster from only two years ago.
It will now be fascinating to see how Swayman and the rest of the Bruins respond to so many former core players getting dealt. Their performance against the Bolts was a great start.
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