Goaltending Market Keeps Shrinking, and Boston Is Already Out of Room

The Bruins traded Korpisalo in July. Hutchinson retired last week. Campbell left the league around the same time. Three veteran netminders gone from the available pool in a matter of weeks, and Boston was already thin before any of it happened.

I've written this note twice now in slightly different forms, which tells you something about how quickly this situation has deteriorated. The short version remains the same: Jeremy Swayman is the only goaltender on this roster who has played meaningful NHL minutes, and the market for alternatives keeps getting smaller. Every retirement announcement tightens that math a little further.

The broader goaltending market drying up isn't a Boston-specific problem, but Boston is more exposed to it than most. A team with a reliable backup can absorb a Hutchinson retirement as background noise. The Bruins don't have that cushion. Training camp is approaching, the 84-game schedule is set, and the answer behind Swayman remains unresolved.