Bruins vs. Jeremy Swayman: Why the team took the stalemate to another level

BOSTON – At TD Garden on Monday, a senior team member raised eyebrows after Boston Bruins president Cam Neely not-so-subtly revealed the club's eight-year, $64 million offer to Jeremy Swayman.

“Gave you something to write with today, huh?” The employee collapsed.

It was intentional.

On September 18, general manager Don Sweeney opened training camp by hosting the Spittin' Chiclets podcast. Twelve days later, Sweeney's colleagues announced that host Ryan Whitney's comments still left scar tissue: the Bruins had submitted a four-year, $24.8 million offer and no one from the organization had returned a call from Swayman for three weeks.

None of Whitney's revelations reflected positively on the organization. They made the Bruins look cheap and insensitive.

With contract negotiations stalled more than halfway through training camp, Neely, CEO Charlie Jacobs and coach Jim Montgomery added gas to the fire. There were several reasons for this.

1. They wanted to defend Sweeney.

2. They hoped to move negotiations forward.

3. They wanted to make it clear to players – both within the team and across the league – that the organization is willing to pay. Sweeney has begun negotiations with Brad Marchand (unrestricted), Trent Frederic (UFA) and Morgan Geekie (restricted).

“I don’t begrudge anyone a big paycheck,” Jacobs said. “We are writing a big project ourselves to make sure we have a winning club on the ice.”

In previous negotiations, Jacobs supported management's decision to place David Pastrnak ($11.5 million per year) and Charlie McAvoy ($9.5 million) among the five highest-paid players at their positions when they signed. However, Pastrnak and McAvoy tracked the history of revenue from the subsequent bridging deals. Swayman wants to avoid this step.

In a way he could.

If Swayman were to accept the Bruins' offer, his average annual value of $8 million would make him the fifth-highest paid goaltender in the NHL. It would put him in exclusive company. Like Andrei Vasilevskiy ($9.5 million AAV), Swayman would sign as a restricted free agent. The other three before him signed as pending UFAs and had the freedom to negotiate with more clubs than just their own.

Depending on who breaks camp with the college, the Bruins would have some breathing room under the $88 million cap hit. Sweeney informed Jacobs that he would rather have some free money in case of injuries.

However, Swayman is not inclined to compromise.

If Swayman wants Vasilevskiy's AAV of $9.5 million, Sweeney would most likely have to trade a player to stay within the cap. He doesn't want to do that. He's already moved Linus Ullmark and his $5 million AAV, in part to accommodate Swayman's pending raise.

“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 capitalize on in the free agent market,” Sweeney said of the trade with Ullmark before signing Swayman. “And also from players who came through the system. So that's the direction we've taken. The two are not connected in this sense. Jeremy has taken his position. I respect his position. To some extent, he probably respects ours. We just have to fill a gap.”

On September 18, Sweeney mentioned December 1 twice. He reminded Swayman of the consequences if he didn't sign by that date. If he doesn't, Swayman will be ineligible to play the entire 2024-25 season. He wouldn't collect any wages either.

On Monday, Sweeney issued a more short-term statement: Even if Swayman signs today, he will not be considered to start the regular season opener. The Bruins have just two practices before the regular season opener: Friday at Warrior Ice Arena and Oct. 7 in South Florida. They still have three preseason games left.

“We're coming into camp so late that it's unlikely Jeremy would be able to do this,” Sweeney said. “But today is a new day to continue the discussion and hopefully close the gaps that still exist.”

Montgomery went a step further and named Joonas Korpisalo his starter for Game 1, more than a week before the Bruins visit Sunrise. Montgomery noted how well Bruin has adjusted in his first year under the supervision of goalie coach Bob Essensa.

When Montgomery made his statements, he had one audience in mind: Swayman.

“The longer you can go without seeing NHL shots and the longer you can go without seeing that speed and tempo in front of you, whether it's a five-on-five duel like we did every practice or getting the reps in, the further you get pushed back,” Montgomery said. “Suppose a deal is made tomorrow. There is only the possibility of two exercises beforehand. Korpisalo did really well. We have confidence in him. That’s why I referred to him starting Game 1.”

The Bruins raised spirits in negotiations on Monday. It remains to be seen how Swayman responds to the heat.

(Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)