Former Bruins goalie and NESN analyst Andrew Raycroft isn't worried about the lack of news regarding Jeremy Swayman's new deal.
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Don Sweeney and the Bruins took care of many of their offseason tasks in late June and early July,
dealing Linus Ullmark to the Senators, using a re-acquired first-round selection to add a
high-ceiling prospect in Dean Letourneau, and using their abundant cap space to sign top targets in free agency
like Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov.
But Boston still has one order of business to attend to: signing restricted free agent Jeremy Swayman to a hefty contract extension.
With over $8.6 million in expected cap space remaining
(per PuckPedia), the Bruins should have the fiscal means to sign Swayman to a long-term deal worth between $7.5 and $8 million per year.
Still, both Boston and Swayman’s camp have yet to come to terms on a deal nearly a week into August. With training camp set to begin Sept. 18, should Bruins fans be concerned about the radio silence between Swayman and Boston?
Former Bruins goalie and current NESN analyst Andrew Raycoft isn’t raising the alarm.
“No level of concern. No updates, haven’t heard a thing,”
Raycroft said on WEEI’s “The Skate Pod,” adding: “Everybody’s gone. The hockey world — everybody is gone. Since July 7 when that development camp shut down the last one in the league, everybody is gone.”
“There’s really no reason for fans to be worried about a contract until September,” Raycoft said. “September 1 is maybe you can start thinking or even talking about it and even then they have two weeks [until training camp begins].”
While Bruins fans will be able to breathe easier the sooner Swayman puts pen to paper, several other restricted free agents in Boston followed a similar timeline when it came to their new deals.
It took until Sept. 15, 2017 for the Bruins to sign then-RFA David Pastrnak to a new deal (six year, $40 million), ending a summer-long stretch of negotiations that ended just before training camp.
Even though Swayman and the Bruins navigated through a contentious contract negotiation last offseason that
ended with an arbitration hearing, such a result won’t play out once again this summer.
Barring a team submitting an offer sheet, Swayman’s options are limited beyond eventually signing a new deal with Boston. Both Swayman and the Bruins
ultimately agreed to not elect for arbitration this offseason — a positive sign that both parties will eventually agree to terms in the coming weeks.
“This is going to take two phone calls at the end of the day,” Raycroft said. “Jeremy can’t really go anywhere. He has to sign. He has to play. He has to make a lot of money and the Bruins have to pay him a lot of money. I think at the end of the day, it will be a couple of phone calls, they’ll get it hashed out, and he’ll be playing on opening night.”
