Jeremy Swayman and the Boston Bruins remain far apart in contract talks, and the 25-year-old restricted free-agent goaltender is expected to sit out the beginning of training camp next Wednesday.
Per Hall of Fame and Boston Globe puck scribe Kevin Paul Dupont late Saturday afternoon from the Buffalo Sabres Prospect Challenge, where Bruins hopefuls are squaring off against prospects from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Columbus Blue Jackets, and New Jersey Devils:
’Swayman, a restricted free agent, remains without a new deal and is not expected to suit up for the start of training camp on Wednesday in Brighton.’
Dupont then reported that all Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney had to offer on the topic was:
”Kick it down the road. We’ll talk next week.”
As I’ve been saying for weeks on ‘The Eye Test Podcast’ with Pierre McGuire and me here on the Sick Podcast Network, this has had holdout written all over it since August 27. That’s when Jeremy Swayman said on the Marc Lewis Podcast that he wasn’t simply standing his ground for himself but also for the entire goalie market and fraternity. This stalemate became more than just the Bruins and the Swayman camp of him and his agent, Lewis Gross. Then, this past week, reports surfaced that New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin may be waiting to start negotiating an extension with the Rangers until the Bruins and Swayman find common ground.
“You’ve got to imagine that Shesterkin’s (new contract) is going to be based on his performance,” The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta told the NHL Network. “(He will be) the highest-paid goaltender at the end of the day once Swayman gets his deal. But I think he’s waiting to see where that goes, how that plays out before they get too hard into a negotiation, but maybe they are now.”
What do you think the hawk of all hawks on the NHL Board Of Governors and Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs is thinking about this with the current Collective Bargaining Agreement set to expire in 2026? He’s probably not too happy that his RFA goalie is suddenly driving the goalie market and taking on this role for the NHLPA.
”Ya think?’ one NHL executive source replied sarcastically when asked that by Sick Podcast News on Saturday. “I can guarantee he’s not a happy man right now, and he’s made that known to [Team President] Cam Neely and to Donny.”
Let’s not forget that Gross orchestrated the longest holdout in the NHL salary cap era. In the 2017-2018 season, Gross’ client, Toronto Maple Leafs winger William Nylander, finished his four-year entry-level contract with $3.61 million ($902,000 AAV). Nylander held out until just hours before the Dec.1, 5 p.m. ET deadline for him to sign or not play in the 2018-19 season. The Swedish winger signed a six-year, $45.09 million ($7.51M AAV) contract, and this past January, he became Gross’ highest-earning client when he signed an eight-year, $92 million ($11.5M AAV).
Gross is also the agent of former Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug, who could not agree on a contract extension with the Bruins in 2020 when he was an unrestricted free agent. Krug signed a seven-year, $45 million ($6.5M AAV) contract with the St. Louis Blues. Gross has already proven to Sweeney that he’s not afraid to take it to the limit and sadly for the Bruins and their fans, that’s the harsh reality that is starting to hit.
