By: Tom Calautti | Follow me on Twitter @TCalauttis
Boston Bruins management held a press conference just after 11:00 AM this morning to address the media as the clock ticks down towards the start of the 2024-25 regular season. A series of issues were discussed, but the biggest problem on the table was the ongoing contract talks between the organization and all-star goaltender Jeremy Swayman.
CEO and Deputy Governor Charlie Jacobs opened the presser, followed by President Cam Neely, General Manager Don Sweeney, and Head Coach Jim Montgomery. Sweeney was the first to discuss Swayman’s contract, saying, “I don’t have a definitive update on Jeremy. We still have a gap to bridge.”
Don Sweeney opened up about the Linus Ullmark trade, saying he had no regrets about dealing the former Vezina despite not having Swayman signed. “Both goaltenders had asked to play 55 games; that’s not possible if you’re playing on the same team. So, we decided to make a decision and we felt comfortable with Jeremy moving forward.”
He continued, “I don’t regret that decision one bit in terms of the decision we made to move forward and attack some of the areas that we felt we could benefit from in the free agent market and also from players that were coming to the system.”
In a surprising turn of events, Cam Neely, not Sweeney, dropped the biggest bombshell on the contract negotiations. When pressed on the details of the deal offered to Swayman, an agitated Neely said, “Well, I don’t want to get into the weeds with what his ask is, but I know that I have $64 million reasons why I’d be playing right now.” Neely went on to say that he agrees with the notion that Swayman is trying to reset the goalie market.
We can take that to mean the Boston Bruins have offered Jeremy Swayman an eight-year, $8 million contract, which would make the Alaska native the fifth-highest-paid netminder in the league. The only goalies making more making more per season would be Sergei Bobrovsky ($10 million), Andrei Vasilevskiy ($9.5 million), Connor Hellebucyk ($8.5 million), and Ilya Sorokin ($8.25 million).
With the contract stalemate spreading this far into training camp, the possibilities of Swayman signing and being ready for opening night have dwindled. Jim Montgomery talked openly about his plans for the season opener, telling reporters, “Where we are in camp right now with how well camp has gone and how well Korpisalo has done…he’s going to be our game-one starter.”
There are just eight days until the Bruins open their season against the Florida Panthers, and it’s looking increasingly likely that they’ll do so without their starting goaltender. Swayman has until December 1st to sign a deal, or else he forfeits playing during the 2024-25 season.
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