The ongoing contract dispute between the Boston Bruins and goalie Jeremy Swayman doesn’t appear to have an end in sight despite the NHL season beginning in less than two weeks, according to the latest rumblings from the Fifth Liners Podcast.
“I think this is going to December 1st. I really think if we don’t see something in the next two weeks, it’s in for the long haul.”
Jimmy Murphy, co-host of the Sick Podcast and Bruins reporter went on to say Swayman’s agent could drag out this contract problem.
“A scout friend of mine pointed out, he said ‘I got a weird feeling on this Swayman thing. I think it’s gonna go for a long time.’ And I said why’s that?
“‘Do you not remember William Nylander?’ And I said, yeah and he goes, ‘Well, who’s Swayman’s agent?’ And of course it’s the same agent as William Nylander, Louis Gross. And William Nylander, to this point in the cap era, has the longest holdout. And William Nylander held out of camp, he didn’t play. He went right into the season and didn’t play until December 2nd. And he signed three hours before the 5 PM deadline on December 1st for unrestricted or restricted free agents (signing deadline for Group 2 free agents) to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs and that was in 2018.”
Earlier in the offseason, the Bruins moved on from Linus Ullmark by trading him to the Ottawa Senators. Swayman is now the Bruins’ clear No. 1 starter and he’s taking advantage of that leverage by requesting $10 million per year, which would make him tied for the second-highest paid goalie in the NHL.
Jeremy Swayman contract dispute indicative of future NHLPA strike, NHL collective bargaining
Murphy continued to say he believes this contract dispute is a smaller piece of a larger whole for the NHLPA.
“This has become bigger than just Jeremy Swayman and the Boston Bruins and Louis Gross. This is about the CBA. This is about the players union. This is about owners.”
Last summer, Swayman received an arbitration deal, which earned him just $3.48M on a one-year deal. Now he’s seeking between an eight-year contract with an average of $8.5 and $10 million per year from the Bruins, who have no leverage in this deal after trading Ullmark. It’s believed the Bruins’ offer is significantly lower.
The NHL regular season begins Friday, October 4 and the Bruins begin their schedule on Tuesday, October 8 on the road against the Florida Panthers.
