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Jeremy Swayman and the Boston Bruins have still yet to agree to a deal, meaning the team is without its starting goaltender less than two weeks from the 2024-25 NHL season beginning.
Swayman, who started 43 games last regular season and all but one in the playoffs, appeared to become an even more important part of the Bruins' future when the team traded Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators over the summer. However, the former Jennings Trophy winner and current restricted free agent has made it clear he will not report to training camp until Boston works out a new contract with him.
Swayman is reportedly looking for something near a $10 million-per-year deal, which would make him among the three or four highest-paid goalies in the NHL — only Carey Price and Sergei Bobrovsky have a cap hit of $10 million or more. According to reports, though, the Bruins are not willing to go so high. Instead, the club reportedly would like to keep Swayman's cap hit to $8 million or potentially as low as $6 million.
NHL insider Pierre LeBrun said negotiations are “still status quo” between the Bruins and Swayman, but he hinted at a potential timetable for the talks to come to a conclusion.
“It’s unclear if the Bruins are waiting for Swayman to break, but there’s no sign of that so far,” LeBrun wrote for The Athletic. “The one constant is that Swayman wants an eight-year deal. Both sides have been focused on a long-term deal. Obviously, the gap is in the AAV.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if this gets done closer to opening night.”
Jeremy Swayman seeking new contract as Bruins season draws near
After Swayman played on a one-year, $3.5 million deal last season via arbitration, both sides agreed to stay away from arbitration this offseason. While that often can mean the parties believe they can work out a deal, no such contract has been agreed to so far.
The Bruins are already playing preseason games, and if the standoff lasts for another two weeks, the team could be playing regular-season games without Swayman. And to the goaltender's benefit, it's clear that Boston is at its best with him and nowhere near that without him and Joonas Korpisalo starting.
The Bruins will visit the Florida Panthers, who eliminated them from the playoffs in May, to open the regular season on Oct. 8.
