New details emerge and Joonas Korpisalo being traded by the Boston Bruins seems likely

Tuesday in Seattle was the latest example, Swayman got the crease again as Boston wrapped its road trip against the Kraken. In the 7-4 loss, he faced 27 shots and made 20 saves.

Ty Anderson put the usage into one blunt stat line before puck drop. He noted it was Swayman's 23rd start in Boston's last 30 games and framed Korpisalo's workload as one start every 9.5 days since November began.

When you scan the game logs, the trend checks out even if you ignore the exact phrasing. ESPN has Swayman starting 29 games already, while Korpisalo has started 14, with his last start coming on Saturday, Dec. 27.

That's the «new detail» that changes the conversation, because it's not about whether Korpisalo can play. It's about whether Boston is using him enough to justify the cost and whether the rhythm loss hurts when he finally does start.

Money is the other piece that keeps circling back. Boston.com has Korpisalo at $3 million AAV for the Bruins, and that number is only that low because Ottawa retained part of the deal.

As a Bruins fan, I don't enjoy dunking on a backup goalie, but the roster math is starting to feel unavoidable.

A backup matters because he protects your starter from grinding down. If Swayman is truly the workhorse, fine, but then your No. 2 has to be cheap enough that the dollars can help the skaters.

That's where the Providence angle creeps in. Boston can always call up a goalie on a two-way deal for a fraction of the cap hit, and if the staff trusts the system, you can still get competent spot starts.

None of this guarantees a trade, but it explains why the chatter won't go away. If Korpisalo is only seeing the net once every week and a half, the next step is whether Boston commits to a true tandem or moves the contract and reallocates the space.

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