KPD yesterday’s hockey notes in the Globe:
Still waiting on Swayman deal
As Labor Day approached, all remained quiet regarding the Bruins’ efforts to sign Jeremy Swayman to a contract extension.
Reminder: The CBA-mandated deadline is Dec. 1, at which point, if still unsigned, Swayman would surrender his right to play in the NHL this season. Chance of that: the same as a Manitoba snowball on a South Miami beach.
Nashville was motivated to deal Askarov to the Sharks because the Predators tied up Juuse Saros with an eight-year deal that kicks in October 2025. A proven No. 1, Saros is 29, four years older than Swayman, and has played upward of triple the games (350 to Swayman’s 132).
The pact Saros signed, keeping him in Nashville’s control for nine years, next season will begin paying out at $7.74 million per. The bridge deal that got him there (four years, $20 million) expires next spring.
With neither side talking for the record, or at all, it’s only guesswork if Saros’s salary history offers any guidance as to where Swayman and the Bruins could find a landing spot.
Given that the Bruins have yet to use Swayman as a full-time No. 1, they are looking to ink him to a bridge deal, one of maybe 3-4 years, scaled up from his $3.475 million of last season. The number could be, say, $22 million-$24 million if stretched to four years, at which point he then would eligible to become an unrestricted free agent at age 29.
Per the CBA, the sides could extend to the maximum eight years, which would scale up the AAV, possibly reaching toward Charlie McAvoy’s neighborhood of $9.5 million per year. But if the Saros deal signed this offseason is used as a comp, the Bruins’ max offer could be more in the range of $8 million-$8.5 million AAV.
Bruins veterans are scheduled to report to camp on Sept. 15.