Coming into the Boston Bruins Captain’s Practice, Rookie Camp, and now Training Camp itself, the loudest topic in the room has been Jeremy Swayman . Over the last month, there have been reports all over the spectrum. Some say they are far apart on a deal, and some say they are signing in a few hours, yet here we are, with no Jeremy Swayman in a Bruins sweater.
Things are starting to head into uncharted territory for the Bruins.
What We Know
Swayman
Last season, Swayman and the Bruins went to salary arbitration. Swayman elected to take the Bruins into arbitration . Since it was player-elected, the Bruins were left with the option of a one-year or two-year contract. Don Sweeney chose the one-year option, which led to the current contract dispute this off-season.
After going through arbitration with the Bruins, Swayman has spoken many times in the media and podcast interviews about the unpleasant experience. Referencing learning a lot about the business side of the game and taking feelings out of the equation.
Swayman’s agent is Lewis Gross, who has other clients like Torey Krug, William Nylander, and Noel Acciari. Gross is notorious for being a hard negotiator. Krug and Acciari left town seeking larger contracts, and William Nylander even held out til the 11th hour on December 1st with the Maple Leafs on his previous contract.
Sweeney/Bruins
Coming out of the salary arbitration, the Bruins had the option to take a two-year contract. Sweeney opted for a one-year contract (I’ll speculate later in the article).
When the question came about goaltending moving forward, the Bruins chose Swayman. They moved Ullmark to Ottawa before he could change his NTC list, making Swayman the #1 between the pipes. Ultimately adding another backup goaltender in Joonas Korpisalo, who isn’t making the league minimum.
Boston currently has approx $8.6m in cap space to sign Swayman without making other roster moves.
The Dispute
From all that can be gathered, Jeremy Swayman wants to be paid top dollar and get north of $8.5m on his AAV on a long-term contract. While the Bruins are hesitant due to his lack of games played compared to other 1A goaltenders who are getting paid top dollar.
With Swayman’s remarks on wanting to set a positive precedent for the goaltending contract market and Gross’ reputation as a grinder in contract negotiations, it could be a ride. As Sweeney alluded to in his press conference, Boston is prepared to use the entire negotiation timeline of December 1, 2024.
My Thoughts
Over the last two seasons, the goalie hugs and enormous amounts of wins have been at the center of Bruins fans’ hearts. Over the last few months, they’ve seen Ullmark traded to Ottawa and replaced by Korpisalo, and now Swayman is holding out. Forcing the Bruins into a possible Joonas Korpisalo and Brandon Bussi tandem.
If the reports of Swayman expecting $10m AAV are true, I don’t blame the Bruins for holding firm. YES, Swayman is a great goalie by the numbers. But the numbers say he plays 50% of the games during the season, yet he wants to be paid as if he plays 60-65 games a year. The NHL has become more of a ‘projection’ league as players get significant paydays during their RFA years, but that hasn’t happened in the goaltending position.
From all signs, the Bruins want to make Swayman THE guy, but can they?
Don Sweeney made things extremely complicated for himself by moving Linus Ullmark before having a Swayman contract in place. Then, he doubled down on his difficulty by bringing Korpisalo back in the deal. Instead of moving Ullmark for some cap breathing room, Sweeney ended up with a first-round pick and no cap space. That shouldn’t be overlooked.
Knowing the cap space available and the moves the organization has made to make Swayman the goaltender of the future, it is getting hard to blame the Bruins for Swayman not being on the ice.
So the question is, is Jeremy Swayman’s reputation in jeopardy?
