The Vancouver Canucks have lost goalie Jiri Patera to the Boston Bruins after placing him on waivers. Patera, who signed a two-year, two-way deal with Vancouver on July 1, was initially brought in as a depth option due to his NHL experience. However, as Thatcher Demko’s injury situation improved, Patera’s role with the team became redundant.
In response to Demko’s recovery, the Canucks pursued and signed top free-agent goalie Kevin Lankinen, making Patera expendable. The team placed the 25-year-old goalie on waivers with plans to assign him to their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. However, the Bruins intervened and claimed Patera before the move could happen.
Boston’s decision to claim Patera seems tied to their ongoing issues with restricted free agent goalie Jeremy Swayman. Bruins president Cam Neely recently remarked that Swayman, currently holding out for a large contract, has “64 million reasons” to play for the team. Meanwhile, Swayman鈥檚 agent, Lewis Gross, has criticized the Bruins, disputing that such an offer was made. Furthermore, the Bruins have already committed to Joonas Korpisalo as their starting goalie for the season opener.
While the Bruins’ AHL prospect Brandon Bussi has had two strong seasons with the Providence Bruins, winning 22 games in each, he has yet to appear in an NHL regular season game. By claiming Patera, Boston secures additional goalie depth in case they decide to trade Swayman or face an offer sheet for him that they aren’t prepared to match.
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