Some decisions faced Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney going into the offseason regarding some players on his roster who were under contract. Maybe no bigger decisions than between the pipes and Jeremy Swayman's backup, Joonas Korpisalo. It was time to move on from him for a couple of reasons.
First, he wanted a bigger role, and honestly, he's not getting it in Boston, but unlikely elsewhere, if we're being honest. However, that didn't stop Sweeney from moving on from the veteran two years after acquiring him from the Ottawa Senators as part of the return for Linus Ullmark.
In the end, Sweeney traded Korpisalo to the New York Rangers, which opened the door for Michael DiPietro to be Swayman's backup. The NHL released the schedule for all teams, and Marco Sturm's club will get to test their new goalie tandem early in the season.
Bruins' new goalie rotation will be tested early in the 2026-27 season
Boston had to move Korpisalo. If they didn't, they would risk losing DiPietro on waivers if they sent him to the American Hockey League (AHL) to the Providence Bruins. He wouldn't have made it down there without someone claiming him.
Now, with the door open for DiPietro to be Swayman's backup, Sturm will test his new rotation early on. The first week is a back-to-back on the road, on Oct. 2 against the Winnipeg Jets and Oct. 3 against the Minnesota Wild. Then things get interesting the following week. Three games in five days point to DiPietro getting a start. Then another West Coast trip on back-to-back games against the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings in Southern California will offer another opportunity for DiPietro to play again.
There are some road games mixed in with some home games that give the Black and Gold three games a week and an option for DiPietro to play. November offers just one back-to-back, and nine of the 11 games will be played at the TD Garden. There is a good chance Swayman gets a majority of those games.
DiPietro has been waiting for his opportunity to be Swayman's backup, and the Bruins didn't want to risk losing him after they let Brandon Bussi walk last summer, and 12 months later, and two teams later, he is a Stanley Cup champion with the Carolina Hurricanes.
