Player Discussion Jeremy Swayman -VI President Cam Speaks: Monty, Donny, & Charlie too!

[Gee Wally]

Mod edit: @smithformeragent

As this situation continues to drag on:

Please keep the conversation pertinent to the topic and avoid making it personal.

Debate about the management of the salary cap and the performance of the general manager fits into the context of the conversation, but we’ll avoid dividing fans into camps like “pro-player” and “team apologist”.

Thanks!

Continue if you must. No flaming!

Click to read more...

 

[SwayHeyKid]

What does everyone want to have happen here?

Anyone curious to see this drag out past October 8th?

I want him signed. I don't care for what. If the Bruins can get him cheap, so be it, just get in camp. I'm very high on this team with good health and watching October and November without Swayman would be a complete drag.

 

[LSCII]

Jeremy Swayman demands a trade which ultimately leads to the firing of Don Sweeney and the hiring of a new general manager with no ties to the organization followed by the Montreal Canadiens organization being relegated to the AHL for all eternity.

You left Neely out and he needs to go too because, f*** that clown. He’s terrible and every bit as complicit as Donnie Harvard with where this roster is…

 

[Hookslide]

No need for you to apologize, my friend. I was venting at the poor choice of words, the phrase, used by whoever wrote that article.
It's been a bad couple of months for me and today I find myself officially unemployed. Maybe I'll find and open that bottle of Johnny Walker Black stashed in the cabinet under the kitchen counter to sooth my nerves. Won't happen, but it is a thought.

The very best going forward, it is a place many of have been, just be careful and it will turn around for you.

 

[DKH]

If you were told that he doesn’t want 9 then what were you told he does want (unironically please, if possible)?

And again, and for the record, we don’t (really) know either the ask or the offer, and we don’t know who it is that’s refusing to budge. Because that determines who’s more at fault here.

For example, if Swayman doesn’t want 9 but wants 8.5 and Sweeney refuses to budge from 6.2, then this whole clusterf*** is on Sweeney. But if Swayman’s ask was 9.5-10 and Sweeney moved up from 6.2 to, say, 8+ and Swayman won’t budge then it’s on Swayman. Or maybe both moved but just not enough.

But until and unless we know the initial ask and offer, and who moved and who didn’t, then we don’t really know who’s to blame. Could be one, could be the other, could be both or could be neither. We just don’t know and are just pulling shit out of our asses. All but DKH, of course, who’s told things.

I just run with many packs and my info comes from a lot of places but I’m no insider I’m a fan

Here for entertainment and a lot of good posters who are very good and worth the time

I’m told he’s laying low now. (My take - he got the message do this in private and not the media. He said he learned a lot from arbitration well I think he learned more from what happens when you take it public and think you can toss rocks and assume your glass house won’t be getting hit)

Gross works for Swayman not vice versa ~ he may want to become more active instead of waiting till he gets his MBA

I think he signs soon reading the tea leaves ~ if I’m wrong remember I am the worst poster for a reason

 

[smithformeragent]

Jeremy Swayman demands a trade which ultimately leads to the firing of Don Sweeney and the hiring of a new general manager with no ties to the organization followed by the Montreal Canadiens organization being relegated to the AHL for all eternity.

You want fries or rings with that?

 

[Hookslide]

Welcome to Marty Walsh’s NHLPA.

For better or worse, theres a new sheriff in town.

Spot on, I have been saying this for a while and not that, I am a Marty Walsh guy, and I certainly am not a NBA Bettman supporter, but Bettman will have his hands full. Get the popcorn out..........I just hope we will still be able to watch hockey.

 

[EverettMike]

You want fries or rings with that?

Typically when asked that it means the shoestring onion rings, the kind where the batter is falling off, the ones you get at a seafood place.

Don't like those. I like thick onion rings.

So I have to assume I would want just fries. I like all fry varieties.

 

[BTO]

I just run with many packs and my info comes from a lot of places but I’m no insider I’m a fan

Here for entertainment and a lot of good posters who are very good and worth the time

I’m told he’s laying low now. (My take - he got the message do this in private and not the media. He said he learned a lot from arbitration well I think he learned more from what happens when you take it public and think you can toss rocks and assume your glass house won’t be getting hit)

Gross works for Swayman not vice versa ~ he may want to become more active instead of waiting till he gets his MBA

I think he signs soon reading the tea leaves ~ if I’m wrong remember I am the worst poster for a reason

For your entertainment:

 

[smithformeragent]

You left Neely out and he needs to go too because, f*** that clown. He’s terrible and every bit as complicit as Donnie Harvard with where this roster is…

Let me take this idea a step further.

Would you be willing to sacrifice a season under the following scenario?

• Sweeney "drops the ball" and Swayman misses the entire season.
• Team misses the playoffs.
• Sweeney is fired.

Worth it?

 

[Hookslide]

You can love Swayman and slam him

I think he’s going to be a star but if he wants 9 M AAV (I’m told he doesn’t) he’s a greedy prick

And STFU about arbitration ~ you sound like a whiney freakin bitch

I would sign him 8/64 or 6/50 tonight both exceed Saros who’s every bit as good and has a resume

He’s going to sign and be better for the experience but his agent brought all this on

I’d fire his ass if he represented me - he’s a media whore obvious to anyone who followed the Nylander saga

The Bruins responded with the 10 M AVV using a radio non-hockey talk show host that hit a bullseye and I’m sure caught Swayman off guard since he knows it’s BS

Gross thought he could throw mud while wearing a new suit - sorry dude this ain’t the Greendale CC human beings they are going up against

I think Swayman has a right to ask for whatever he feels he is worth and that does not make him a greedy prick, but he better be prepared that if does not live up to the contract his life in Boston will not be what it is today, and should the team need to fill a need but do not have the resources because of the Swayman deal playing here will be tough. Swayman is a smart kid and he should really evaluate what is important to him, and not what his agent thinks is important.

 

[BMC]

I want both sides to get their heads out of the asses and get a deal done somewhere in the $7-$7.5M range.

Today

This x 1,000,000.

The bullshit has gone on long enough.

 

[Hookslide]

Just trade him at this point, I like the kid but if an RFA is giving this much trouble it's time for a different player or GM.

Good point, if he does sign for 2 years or 4 years , what will the next negotiations, be like , I can only imagine........Time to move him, not worth the headache, and I am sure the fans are not the only ones getting tired of this, just maybe it will start creeping into the Lockeroom.

 

[GordonHowe]

 

[UncleRico]

The old wives tale is they had agreed, then Gross came back asking for more anfter they had an angreement and then Sweeney told him to pound sand.

Does this old wives tale come from the same source that had you mocking everyone last week because a source told you swayman was signing?

 

[bruinmann77]

I always said only 5 people know what really going on but this is getting stupid.
wondering what the Bruins can get if they do trade him.

 

[Bodit9]

I just run with many packs and my info comes from a lot of places but I’m no insider I’m a fan

Here for entertainment and a lot of good posters who are very good and worth the time

I’m told he’s laying low now. (My take - he got the message do this in private and not the media. He said he learned a lot from arbitration well I think he learned more from what happens when you take it public and think you can toss rocks and assume your glass house won’t be getting hit)

Gross works for Swayman not vice versa ~ he may want to become more active instead of waiting till he gets his MBA

I think he signs soon reading the tea leaves ~ if I’m wrong remember I am the worst poster for a reason

My read is Sweeney prefers doing business behind closed doors (less messy, more professional, don't air your dirty laundry, etc.) and he appears to have no qualms about paying star players fair value (Pasta, Mac, Lindholms). I think you nailed it. Seems pretty obvious Gross didn't like the first offer and decided to start a public media battle against Don. Don didn't like that at all and said, "ok, didn't want it to be like this but it's on f***er" and threw out that $10M rumor. And now the public is starting to turn on Sway. Sway handled this all wrong IMO. Maybe he took business classes but he never took public relations classes. Hopefully they can come to a fair agreement.

 

[LSCII]

Let me take this idea a step further.

Would you be willing to sacrifice a season under the following scenario?

• Sweeney "drops the ball" and Swayman misses the entire season.
• Team misses the playoffs.
• Sweeney is fired.

Worth it?

It depends on what you mean by sacrificing a season. If you mean regular season success, playoff qualifier, and bounced in round one or two? Yeah I’d be okay with that because in reality this team is not built for playoff success and because of the roster construction failures, certainly isn’t a true cup contender.

With Sweeney’s depth approach over skill, I don’t see the roster ever getting better under his watch. It’s stagnant. There’s far too much money being spent on the bottom of the roster than the top of it, which is a huge issue. It may get them to the playoffs but once they play a good team, they get badly exposed, year after year. And nothing changes. So I want a fresh set of eyes on it, with someone that’s open to improving it enough to actually compete for a championship.

 

[ranold26]

If this keeps up, send him off to this song and see if you can get Will Smith.

 

[NeelyDan]

You left Neely out and he needs to go too because, f*** that clown. He’s terrible and every bit as complicit as Donnie Harvard with where this roster is…

When you say where this roster is, what does that mean?

 

[LSCII]

If this keeps up, send him off to this song and see if you can get Will Smith.

I know you’re just being funny with this but the dynamic here where they actually think a player from another state should give a f*** about whether they play for the Bruins or another one of the teams in the league is so silly. If I’m a player and my goal from when I was a kid was to play in the NHL, it really wouldn’t matter which team it was. And in Swayman’s case, after the team dragging him through the coals in arbitration last year and then lowballing him this year, I'd openly welcome a move. He’s far more important to their success than they are to his at this point.

When you say where this roster is, what does that mean?

Bottom roster heavy with 4th line and 3rd pairing types and not enough actual skill players to fill out the top 6, which is why they end up always having to slot guys up.

 

[Absurdity]

What does everyone want to have happen here?

Anyone curious to see this drag out past October 8th?

Ideally they come to a deal soon, short-term is even fine here. The Bruins are a better team with him on the roster this season.

I don't think it drags out past October 8th because I think it came out recently that even though Sweeney says they have until the December deadline, their internal deadline is the start of the season.

 

[ranold26]

….. He’s far more important to their success than they are to his at this point.

See that’s where we differ… in today’s NHL, I don’t believe any one player trumps the team. Gone are the days of team’s identity and success is solely based on one player. Heck even the Oilers would be okay without McJesus. Leafs without Matthews.
The parity in the league is at an all time high in my opinion.
That said, are the Bruins a better club with Swayman… yes. But Swayman is a better goalie by being on the Bruins too.

 

[smithformeragent]

It depends on what you mean by sacrificing a season. If you mean regular season success, playoff qualifier, and bounced in round one or two? Yeah I’d be okay with that because in reality this team is not built for playoff success and because of the roster construction failures, certainly isn’t a true cup contender.

With Sweeney’s depth approach over skill, I don’t see the roster ever getting better under his watch. It’s stagnant. There’s far too much money being spent on the bottom of the roster than the top of it, which is a huge issue. It may get them to the playoffs but once they play a good team, they get badly exposed, year after year. And nothing changes. So I want a fresh set of eyes on it, with someone that’s open to improving it enough to actually compete for a championship.

Let's say DNQ for the sake of argument, since that's likely the extent to which the bottom needs to fall out to bring about change.

The flavor here seems to be that, despite them spending to the cap, the team's current management operates a lot like they did in the old days of "Make the playoffs. Win a round, maybe two. Whatever you do, don't enter rebuild territory even if it means never winning a Cup."

Am I wrong?

It took the disaster of the aftermath of the lost season in 04/05 and the botched 05/06 season for ownership to brig in a hockey czar from the outside.

 

[DKH]

My read is Sweeney prefers doing business behind closed doors (less messy, more professional, don't air your dirty laundry, etc.) and he appears to have no qualms about paying star players fair value (Pasta, Mac, Lindholms). I think you nailed it. Seems pretty obvious Gross didn't like the first offer and decided to start a public media battle against Don. Don didn't like that at all and said, "ok, didn't want it to be like this but it's on f***er" and threw out that $10M rumor. And now the public is starting to turn on Sway. Sway handled this all wrong IMO. Maybe he took business classes but he never took public relations classes. Hopefully they can come to a fair agreement.

I think a deal could come very quickly ~ wild card is Shestyorkin signing a monster deal. However, I’m 99% confident that won’t change Bruins thinking who would look at Saros deal.

Swayman would be wise to take an active role in this and get it done ~ 6 to 8 years, NMC, & 7.5 to 8.3 M.

I’ll be his agent I dealt with 2 kids and a lawyer wife I’m battle tested

 

[LSCII]

See that’s where we differ… in today’s NHL, I don’t believe any one player trumps the team. Gone are the days of team’s identity and success is solely based on one player. Heck even the Oilers would be okay without McJesus. Leafs without Matthews.
The parity in the league is at an all time high in my opinion.
That said, are the Bruins a better club with Swayman… yes. But Swayman is a better goalie by being on the Bruins too.

I'm not suggesting he trumps the team at all. I'm saying the fans here who think a player should take a team friendly deal just to stay in Boston are grossly misrepresenting the importance of a guy not from that area playing for their team. It's delusional to think they have any real ties to the area in most cases.

Now, specific to Swayman, he definitely has benefitted from playing on some very good defensive teams here, but he's also been a big reason why those teams looked so solid defensively. Mainly because under Monty's system, they give up way more odd man rushes the other way with the d constantly jumping up into the offensive zone play. So the sheer frequency with which that happens requires a good goalie. I'm not so sure it will look the same with Korpisalo and Bussi back there over Sway over the course of 82 games. In fact, I'd bet it looks significantly worse. Which makes the haggling over every last dime a little pointless. He's by far their best goalie. Stop playing games and get the guy signed already.