The Boston Bruins are deep into their exhibition schedule, but one key player is still missing from the ice. Goaltender Jeremy Swayman remains a restricted free agent, having missed all of training camp and every preseason game. And there is no indication that this situation will be resolved before the start of the regular season.
Bruins general manager Don Sweeney has publicly criticized Swayman and his representation for allegedly turning down a $64 million offer. However, Swayman’s camp quickly refuted the claim, stating that no such offer had ever been made to their client.
Bruins captain Brad Marchand has now weighed in on the public standoff between Swayman and the team. While acknowledging that contract negotiations are a difficult yet normal part of professional sports, Marchand expressed confidence that a deal will be reached, via Boston.com:
“I wouldn’t say it’s hard to keep it out of the room,” Marchand said. “Even today and after, there’s not a whole lot of talk about it. We all understand the situation that the team and Sway are in. This is part of the game. It’s part of the business.
“It’s a part that nobody enjoys. And eventually, a deal is going to get done and everyone’s going to move on and be fine,” he continued. “One of the biggest things is the stress and pressure of when these negotiations are going on.
Once you sign, there’s so much weight that gets lifted off, not just the player’s shoulders, but the team,” Marchand concluded. “And then it’s just all about coming together and finding a way to win and building towards that goal.”
Right now, the Bruins’ starter is Joonas Korpisalo, acquired in the offseason trade that sent Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators. Korpisalo struggled in his first and only season in Ottawa after inking a five-year contract last summer, recording a 3.26 goals-against average and a .890 save percentage.
Jeremy Swayman is coming off a one-year contract awarded in arbitration
Swayman is coming off a one-year, $3.475 million contract that was awarded to him through salary arbitration. He’s yet to play a full workload of a starting NHL goaltender, having never appeared in more than 44 games in his first four seasons.
He’s racked up a record of 79-33-15 with a 2.34 goals-against average, a .919 save percentage, and 12 shutouts so far in his career. He’s also gone 6-6 in 12 career postseason games with a 2.15 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage.
Per NHL rules, Swayman must agree to a contract before December 1 in order to be eligible to play this season.
