By: Jake Ferraro | Follow me on Twitter/X @18Jxxx18
In the 2025-26 National Hockey League season, the Boston Bruins’ goaltending was solid throughout. Jeremy Swayman finished third in 2026 Vezina Trophy voting, and Joonas Korpisalo had solid stretches as his backup. Swayman and Korpisalo formed a respected duo throughout the season. However, Korpisalo was inconsistent at times, which the Bruins couldn’t take anymore with two years remaining on his contract. Korpisalo’s tenure in Boston ended three days ago when he was traded away to the New York Rangers.
Trading away Korpisalo put the Bruins in the hunt for a backup goaltender for next season. However, the Bruins may have their guy to be Swayman’s backup for next season: Michael DiPietro. Over the past two American Hockey League seasons, DiPietro has been outstanding for the Providence Bruins. Still, DiPietro will have a lot to live up to for the upcoming 2026-27 season, as expectations are sky high from everyone.
DiPietro has won the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award over the past two seasons as the AHL’s top goaltender. Along with winning the “Baz” Bastien, DiPietro also won the Les Cunningham Award in 2026 as the AHL’s MVP. DiPietro won 34 games and included an incredible 1.96 GAA and a .930 save percentage for Providence in 2025-26. DiPietro quickly turned into one of the Bruins’ top prospects in the organization, and there’s reason to believe he’s now NHL-ready at 27 years old.
However, even with two recent outstanding seasons in the AHL, DiPietro hasn’t gained much NHL experience. In his career, DiPietro has played only four NHL games, two of which were starts, and he lost both. DiPietro has posted a career 5.01 GAA and .780 save percentage in the NHL. Three of DiPietro’s four NHL games were played as a member of the Vancouver Canucks. This past season, DiPietro played in the only NHL game he’s ever had in Boston on Feb. 26, as he made two saves in 6:03 of playing time against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Even with an amazing 2025-26 AHL season, it wasn’t enough for DiPietro to get more NHL experience, and the Bruins continued to have Korpisalo be Swayman’s backup.
Aside from his lack of NHL experience and the need to live up to his AHL play in the NHL, there’s a huge concern involving Dipietro: his contract. DiPietro has an AAV of $812,500 for the upcoming 2026-27 season. For a proven AHL goaltender on the rise, DiPietro’s salary can be viewed as a steal for the Bruins. However, DiPietro will be an unrestricted free agent after the season concludes. A major concern is that if DiPietro underperforms, the Bruins may show little interest in re-signing him.
The Bruins have three goaltenders in the minor leagues who will be restricted free agents after the 2026-27 season: Luke Cavallin, Simon Zajicek, and Max Lundgren. Jiri Patera is the only goaltender who will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2025-26 season, like DiPietro will be. If any of those four goaltenders play better in the minor leagues than DiPietro does in the 2026-27 season, the Bruins potentially may want to give one of them a chance to be Swayman’s backup down the road. Or, the Bruins could go shopping for a backup goaltender in the 2027 free agency. Another concern is that if DiPietro excels as Swayman’s backup in 2026-27, he could command big money as a backup goaltender, and the Bruins may not want to pay him. However, DiPietro is capable of earning a solid contract as Swayman’s backup for years to come.
There’s reason to be excited to watch DiPietro for next season in Boston. DiPietro has proven himself to be a top goaltender in the AHL and quickly became one of the Bruins’ top prospects. However, huge expectations surround DiPietro among the Bruins and their fans.
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