As the start of the NHL preseason continues, Boston Bruins fans have only one question in mind: Will their award-winning goalie Jeremy Swayman return to the Boston roster?
Swayman, an Alaska native and Bruins player since the 2017 NHL draft, led the Bruins through victory after victory in the 2023-2024 season with his .916 save percentage.
The star studded goalie had such a great season alongside his partner Linus Ullmark that they brought home the William M. Jennings trophy for allowing the fewest goals throughout the year in 2022-2023, with the Carolina Hurricanes trailing not so close behind with their 36 greater goal count.
The first heartbreak for Boston was watching half of the goaltending duo, Ullmark, get traded to the Ottawa Senators back in June but since then, talk of goalie contracts has been nothing but crickets.
Swayman is coming out of a one-year deal for just about $3.5 million and his agents and the Bruins management team have yet to settle on a new contract, leaving fans worried.
The young goalie is currently considered a restricted free agent in the NHL, meaning though his contract has expired, the Bruins still hold the rights to Swayman which disables his ability to look at other options.
Though Swayman has been more than vocal about his love for Boston and his intention to stay on the team, actions speak louder than words and there is not a whole lot of action to prove that loyalty.
Don Sweeney, the current general manager of the Boston Bruins, has also been vocal with the media about the fans concerns regarding the goalie’s status.
“He has chosen to wait, and rightfully so, until a contract is settled,” Sweeney said. “It’s our intention to continue to negotiate a contract. I’m disappointed that when you set things as a priority in the general manager spot that you do your best to try and accomplish that and I haven’t been able to do that yet.”
When discussing his past contract, Swayman mentioned that he felt he was sold at a discounted price and will not let that be the standard for him or goalies in the future and with a few months left before he is kicked off the roster for the season, Swayman seems to be playing the long game.
Goaltenders tend to have a less impressive salary because of the misconception talented forwards have more offensive power than a defensemen or goalie who is stuck within the blue crease of the net. With the highest paid goalie, Montreal Candians player Carey Price, coming up at about $10.5 million in comparison to Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews who is currently on a $13.25 million contract.
If a contract is not drawn up and signed before Dec. 1 then Swayman will be unable to play for not only the Bruins, but any team for the 2024-2025 season. Both the goaltender and Sweeney seem to be confident in settling on a compromise before then.
“At the end of the day I’m optimistic,” said Sweeney.
That being said, the goalie’s absence in training camp in the team’s first few preseason games was not missed.
Joonas Korpisalo and Brandon Bussi have been defending the Bruins net so far this year, with Korpisalo nudging ahead for a notable start to his debut. The pair split the net for their first win over the Washington Capitals where Korpisalo held strong with a 1.0 save average, but Bussi found himself on the ice for the following game against New York as the Bruins took their second loss against the Rangers in preseason.
Korpisalo is also set to start opening night per head coach Jim Montgomery Monday Sept. 30.
“I don’t want to get into the weeds what his ask is, but I know there are 64 million reasons for him to be playing now,” said Cam Neely.
Neely, current president of the Boston Bruins organization, expressed his confusion on how pricing is keeping Swayman out of training camp, leaving him and the team at a disadvantage going into the season. Only hours after the press conference where Neely delivered the comment, Swayman’s team came out to say figures have not reached that level in discussion and the misinformation and disrespect of publicly announcing said numbers will not go unnoticed.
Not only has the contract situation now gone public, but it has also gotten messy.
The question on if and when Swayman will return to Causeway Street is on any Bruins fans’ mind as the team approaches the start of the regular season Oct. 8 against reigning Stanley Cup Champions, the Florida Panthers.
