Bruins Claim Former Golden Knights Goalie

The Boston Bruins added a former Vegas Golden Knights goaltender via waiver claim.

Dec 23, 2023; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Jiri Patera (30) watches the puck go wide against the Florida Panthers during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Boston Bruins are adding reinforcements to their goaltending depth just prior to the 2024-2025 regular season. With contract negotiations going poorly with presumed starter and restricted free agent Jeremy Swayman, the team is set to start veteran Joonas Korpisalo to begin the season. It also puts the team in need of another net minder with NHL experience.

Thankfully for the Bruins, the Vancouver Canucks were placing a goaltender on the waiver wire at the exact same time. According to insider Elliotte Friedman, the Bruins claimed goalie Jiri Patera from the Canucks.

BOS claims Jiri Patera from VCR

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 2, 2024

Before being claimed by the Bruins, Patera was set to play his first season with the Canucks. That organization is having their own issues with goaltending depth, which provided an opportunity for Patera to steal some starts in Vancouver. That wasn't meant to be however as he now will get the chance to snag playing time from Korpisalo in Boston.

Patera was originally selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL Draft. An above-average sized goalie at 6'3 and nearly 220 pounds, he came with a vast amount of potential.

He plied his trade professionally in the top Czech league after a few seasons in the junior ranks of the Western Hockey League. When he joined the Golden Knights' organization, he worked his way up through the Eastern Coast Hockey League (ECHL) to the AHL, where he spent parts of three seasons with the Henderson Silver Knights. In 2022-2023, he started 31 games for the team, collecting a 14-15-1 record.

Patera's NHL experience is limited, but he has some. During the 2022-2023 season, his best professional one so far, he made his NHL debut. Playing in two games, he picked up the victory in both appearances. Last year, he appeared in six games with the Golden Knights. He struggled in those games, going 1-3-1 with a goals against average of 3.98.

Now he joins the Bruins, where he should back up Korpisalo and give the team another NHL-caliber goaltender while they continue negotiating with Jeremy Swayman.

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