BOSTON — There are plenty of questions facing the Bruins at the goalie position that don’t include Jeremy Swayman.
Swayman won’t participate in training camp until a new deal is reached. And should negotiations go into October and beyond Opening Night, the Bruins could roll with a tandem of Joonas Korpisalo and Brandon Bussi.
For Korpisalo, who was acquired by the Bruins in the Linus Ullmark trade, the veteran goalie isn’t changing how he goes about his day-to-day business in Swayman’s absence.
“It doesn’t change my job, and quite frankly, I just want to focus on my job,” Korpisalo said on Thursday after practice at Warrior Ice Arena. “Of course, he’s a great guy. I got to work with him before the camp. Great guy, great goalie. Just focusing on myself.
“Just go day by day,” he added. “That’s been my motto for every year. Of course, you have to look ahead. But right now, just head down, put the work in and get better.”
Korpisalo said earlier this month he was looking forward to working with Bob Essensa throughout training camp. The veteran goalie coach has a proven track record of success. And with Korpisalo statistically being one of the worst goalies in the NHL last year — he went 21-26-4 with an .890 save percentage and 3.27 goals-against average — it’s possible Essensa saw something in Korpisalo that he could improve.
The 30-year-old is focused on changing a few things, but knows the little details are what’s going to make the biggest difference between the pipes.
“Maybe simplify my game. It all comes down to the little, little details, nothing major,” Korpisalo said. “We’ll get to work with Bob. There’s a couple slight things that I want to change, but nothing crazy.”
Bussi has been knocking on the door of an NHL debut. He was called up from Providence once last year, but was the backup to Swayman as Ullmark dealt with an injury. Bussi had a successful year in Providence, going 23-10-5 with a .913 save percentage and 2.67 GAA in 41 games.
“I think what gives us confidence is he has the ability to make big time saves,” coach Jim Montgomery said. “We’ve seen that in Providence, we saw that here last year in that first exhibition game and that incredible save he made. But also, it’s his second and third effort. We talk about Bruins having that, and that’s something that he has in the crease.”
Bussi believe he’s ready to take the step to the NHL and wants to show his teammates he’s ready to get to the next level. The goalie spent a lot of the offseason in the gym because he wanted to get stronger and faster.
“A lot of things are just fine-tuning,” he said. “Nothing (is) totally changing my game, just trying to improve at everything a little bit.”
And with the potential to be part of the NHL roster next month, Bussi is just going to leave all he has on the ice.
“Just go out there, give it your best, earn everything,” he said. “That’s the Bruin motto. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
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