Boston Bruins facing a pivotal decision that may redefine one position in 2025-26
We are one week away from the Boston Bruins officially dropping the puck on the 2025-26 season in Washington against the Capitals on Oct. 8. A long offseason filled with some underwhelming additions and not all needs addressed by general manager Don Sweeney, a new season is here.
One position where the Black and Gold have some depth is between the pipes. Brandon Bussi left in free agency to sign with the Florida Panthers, which leaves Michael DiPietro and Joonas Korpisalo as the options to back up Jeremy Swayman this season.
Through camp in the preseason games, DiPietro and Korpisalo have both been given the opportunity to win the job as Swayman's backup. If you had to pick a winner right now, it would be Korpisalo. However, the final cuts are looming for the Bruins, and there is one giant question facing Sweeney and the coaching staff: what to do with DiPietro.
Bruins facing pivotal decision regarding goalie Michael DiPietro
Sending DiPietro down to the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL) is likely the decision coming from the front office. To get DiPietro down to the P-Bruins, it will require him to clear through waivers, and that is not a given. On a recent 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, insider Elliott Friedman thinks there are going to be a lot of eyes on this decision by Sweeney.
“I have no doubt teams will be looking hard at (him),” said Friedman. “There will be teams this week, curious to see what the Bruins do.”
There was a report from Kevin Weekes of ESPN before free agency started back in June that some teams around the league were ready to make DiPietro an offer if he hit free agency. It makes sense that a lot of teams would be interested in him, as he opened a lot of eyes around the league last year with his play in the AHL.
At this point in training camp, teams have their goalie situation mostly figured out, and would a team really pounce on DiPietro if he hit waivers? Maybe, but that is a question that Boston's management needs to figure out before making a decision.
49ers Paying for Rushing Brock Purdy Back Too Soon After Loss to Jaguars
The San Francisco 49ers lost a stinker of a game on Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the shaky play of quarterback
The Niners will now pay the price for rushing him back early.
Week 4 was only Purdy's second game of the year as he injured his toe in a Week 1 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. Backup Mac Jones
He did not have his best game
He made some good throws, but it seemed he was somewhat limited by the toe injury and was not as on point as we have come to expect from Purdy. Those suspicions were confirmed on Monday as head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed Purdy told him
Even general manager John Lynch confirmed as much heading into Week 5:
This is pretty alarming since the 49ers have to play the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night. Unless Purdy's condition improves dramatically, he could be out for that game, which would be his third missed start of the season.
Given how big every single divisional game is going to be this season in an NFC West that is already quite bunched up, one would think the Niners would have rather had Purdy ready to go on Thursday against LA rather than risk further injury against the Jaguars on Sunday.
As things stand, San Francisco may be better served starting Jones over Purdy in Week 5 if he is healthier than Purdy. The former looked solid in his first two starts, so he may give the Niners a better chance to win.
Now, the 49ers may regret bringing Purdy back before they were certain he was fully recovered from his injury and could play without any ill effects. He may well be rusty for his next start even if he is healthy, and there may only be louder calls for a quarterback controversy if Jones has another good start against LA.
So, the decision to rush Purdy back has the potential to complicate things on several fronts for the rest of the season.
