Without a doubt in my mind it’s Gross and Sweeney holding this up. One is butthurt with Krug and one has the ego to “beat” Gross after the Nylander stuff. If the both are long term is true it’s about AAV and I see Sweeney being the one holding the fort
Could be wrong but it’s just stupid he’s not here. Sound like a 7 vs 9 AAV issue and both of them being dicks about it. Sweeney could and should do the right thing here
What does this mean exactly? That Sweeney should just roll over and give in to Gross' demands? That seems like it would set a bad precedent for negotiations with other RFAs in the future... Poitras? Lohrei? Just threaten to sit out and the Bruins will give you whatever you want...
How did caving in to Gross' hardball tactics work out for the Leafs with Nylander in 2018? Dubas rolling over established the emptiness of his negotiating position and gave the green light for Matthews and Marner to take him to the cleaners shortly after. The Leafs have been a top-heavy team with not cap space for depth ever since.
Heck, how did the Krug contract, that's apparently the source of the bad blood between Sweeney and Gross, work out for the Blues? Last I checked they've marooned him on their version of Robidas island to get some cap relief. Good thing Sweeney didn't cave in to Gross during that negotiation, huh?
At the end of the day both sides stand to lose significantly if this isn't resolved soon. The Bruins are a much worse team without Swayman in the net, I don't think that's debatable. Swayman has a limited number of years to earn money as an NHL player and will never recoup whatever money he loses by sitting out. Both sides need to drop the petty, butthurt crap and meet in the middle to get this resolved. Just my opinion.