May 12, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) slips on his mask during the second period in game four of the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Florida Panthers at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images The agent representing star goaltender Jeremy Swayman hit back at the Boston Bruins for comments team president Cam Neely made about their contract negotiations.
Speaking to reporters Monday, Neely said, “I don’t want to get into the weeds with what (Swayman’s) ask is, but I know that I have 64 million reasons why I’d be playing right now.”
Neely went on to add, with a laugh, that he was surprised by Swayman’s asking price.
Neely’s remarks implied that the Bruins offered Swayman a contract valued at $64 million, likely an eight-year deal with an average annual value of $8 million, which would make him among the top five paid at his position, per NHL.com.
Swayman’s agent, Lewis Gross, posted a statement to Instagram denying that the Bruins ever offered his client that much.
“Normally, I do not release statements or discuss negotiations through the media,” Gross wrote. “However, in this case, I feel I need to defend my client. At today’s press conference, $64 million was referenced. This was the first time that number was discussed in our negotiations. Prior to the press conference, no offer was made reaching that level.
“We are extremely disappointed. This was not fair to Jeremy. We will take a few days to discuss where we go from here.”
Swayman is not in camp with the Bruins with eight days until the team’s season opener against the Florida Panthers.
The 25-year-old is a restricted free agent who played last year on a one-year, $3.475 million contract awarded by an independent arbitrator. He is the only RFA in the NHL who remains unsigned at this juncture.
Swayman has a 79-33-15 record, a .919 save percentage and a 2.34 goals-against average in parts of four seasons with Boston. He and Linus Ullmark shared the William M. Jennings Trophy in 2022-23 after they combined to give Boston the fewest goals allowed as a team in the NHL.
The Bruins traded Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators in June, paving the way for Swayman to own the net full-time. Without him in camp, they are relying on journeyman Joonas Korpisalo and prospect Brandon Bussi as their goalie tandem.
–Field Level Media
