Player Discussion Jeremy Swayman: VII- As featured in Episode 3 of Amazon's "FACEOFF: Inside the NHL

[smithformeragent]

@Gee Wally

We have numerous deletions and more in here. We know tension and emotions are high.
But you folks must simply stop taking personal shots at each. Stay to topic.

If not we will be left with no choice other than adding thread bans.

BOSTON — Boston Bruins president Cam Neely suggested Monday that the team has made an eight-year offer to unsigned restricted free agent goaltender Jeremy Swayman at $8 million annually.

“I don’t want to get into the weeds with what his ask is,” Neely said at a news conference at TD Garden. “But I know that I have 64 million reasons why I’d be playing right now.”

Neely did not disclose what Swayman’s ask has been but said he was surprised by it.

So far, Swayman is holding firm to his demand. It aligns with his personality of not backing down, especially following his uncomfortable 2023 arbitration hearing. According to Neely, Swayman wants to set a new market for goalies, specifically ones under team control.

“What his ask is and what we believe his comp group is,” Neely said, “are two different things.”

General manager Don Sweeney said he remains in contact with Lewis Gross, Swayman’s agent. The Bruins are not interested in trading Swayman.

“Ultimately, we’re a better team, as I’ve said all along, if Jeremy is part of our hockey club,” Sweeney said. “That’s my intention. That’s my wish. I’ll continue to work to do that. I think Jeremy and the team are both hurt in this regard. That’s what I’ll do. I’ll continue to work hard to find a settling point.”

With only three preseason games left, it is likely Swayman will miss regular-season time, even if an agreement is pending. Coach Jim Montgomery designated Joonas Korpisalo as his goalie for the regular-season opener against the Florida Panthers on Oct. 8, regardless of Swayman’s situation. The Bruins have two full practices remaining in camp.

“Where we are in camp right now, with how well camp has gone and how well Korpisalo has done,” Montgomery said, “right now, he’s going to be our Game 1 starter.”

How good is the offer?​

Swayman would become the fifth-highest-paid goalie in the NHL under the Bruins’ offer, behind Sergei Bobrovsky, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Connor Hellebuyck and Ilya Sorokin. Only Vasilevskiy ($9.5 million average annual value) signed his contract as a pending restricted free agent. The others were due to become unrestricted.

It is a significant payday for Swayman, considering he has never been a regular-season No. 1 goalie.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5806291/2024/09/30/bruins-cam-neely-jeremy-swayman/

Click to read more...

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

Yet he’s on a pto bc nobody wanted to sign him. And half his points and goals came on the PP, which means you’re taking about a 8-9 goal 16 point player without a lot of PPTOI. Which he won’t get here, unless shit is going badly.

So again, that’s not a dude you need to worry about signing at the expense of your top goalie.

Jesus. Again, signing Johnson doesn’t impact signing Swayman whatsoever. If you don’t sign TJ you have Koepke or Tufte or Pat Brown. Basically even within $100k. It’s irrelevant.

 

[Midship]

“Hearing you’re not worthy of what you think you’re worthy of” Wow. Isn’t that what every player hears in arbitration hearings?

That business class is next semester.

 

[Smitty93]

Jesus. Again, signing Johnson doesn’t impact signing Swayman whatsoever. If you don’t sign TJ you have Koepke or Tufte or Pat Brown. Basically even within $100k. It’s irrelevant.

This assumes a full 23-man roster, but given the cap space situation, assuming the goal is still to sign, not trade, Swayman, and their preference for cap space to spend at the deadline, they can probably only fit a 22-man roster (13F/7D/2G).

 

[JAD]

Swayman on Bruins tenure: 'Don't want it to end'

Restricted free agent goalie Jeremy Swayman, currently in a contentious contract standoff with Boston, said he would do "everything in my power to be a Bruin for a long time" on the NHL's new Amazon Prime Video docuseries.

www.espn.com

https://x.com/i/web/status/1841828214689157473

Nice posturing by the kid trying to win public sentiment and sympathy for his plight. I glad he found a way to motivate himself and channel his emotions to play better.

Credit to management for lighting a fire under the kid to bring forth his potential without which he would not be where he is to day.

He should be grateful for the criticism, he used it to make himself a better goalie. Not everyone can do that. Kudos to him.

 

[Oates2Neely]

Didn't play like a baby. Didn't pout. Didn't let off ice issues impact his on ice performance. Not sure what more you could ask of a player than to play his absolute best. None of that has to do with his current contract demands and their merits (or lack thereof). It just means that however he feels personally it does not diminish what he does when the puck drops. If anything it seemed to make him more motivated and focused, a trait you often see with the best professional athletes.

Huge baby. He’s literally spouting off to the media wearing a binky at this point. Grow a pair kid. It was arbitration. A year later he’s still sour about and still making it public. Absolutely f****** soft

 

[RustyBruins72]

What's the status on Bussi? Still a few years away?

It's funny, I changed my vote from trade to sign and then read some stuff here and went back to trade.

 

[EverettMike]

Huge baby. He’s literally spouting off to the media wearing a binky at this point. Grow a pair kid. It was arbitration. A year later he’s still sour about and still making it public. Absolutely f****** soft

This doesn't address anything I said, which means you aren't actually refuting it. Of course you're not, because it's factually true.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

A lot of the "Swayman is being a baby" crowd are being seriously dishonest in here.

Stop acting like if you had a salary negotiation with your employer and they turned every possible thing they could into a negative to justify paying you less that in the next negotiation you'd hold no grudge and happily accept whatever they offered you and wouldn't push for all the pay you could.

And no, him being a pro athlete doesnt make it different. At the end of the day its just an employee/employer dispute

 

[goldenblack]

Being this publicly sensitive I think its best for him to be moved.
This town eats goalies alive let alone with this extra drama.

This post is no small fear.

The version of this where he goes 8.5x8 and then totally melts under the pressure is very real. The fan expectations on him with that money will be HUGE (specially given how it came to be). He better definitely be up for it...

 

[Smitty93]

Reminder: all these Swayman quotes you're seeing today are from something that was filmed months ago

 

[JoeIsAStud]

Yet he’s on a pto bc nobody wanted to sign him. And half his points and goals came on the PP, which means you’re taking about a 8-9 goal 16 point player without a lot of PPTOI. Which he won’t get here, unless shit is going badly.

So again, that’s not a dude you need to worry about signing at the expense of your top goalie.

Yes he should get the NHL minimum, maybe 800K instead of 775, but in no way should be be over million. Basically he should be less expensive than Lysell

 

[RiverbottomChuck]

Gen Z is going to be changing your diapers one day so be careful.

It's all making sense now.

 

[Oates2Neely]

This doesn't address anything I said, which means you aren't actually refuting it. Of course you're not, because it's factually true.

Stop it. This kid is doing himself and his team no favors. How does this positively impact the locker room. Is anyone this dense to not see a problem with how he’s conducting himself?? I’m getting to the point where I say F this kid and move him now

 

[Absurdity]

Hard to argue that when Gross works for Swayman, though.

Swayman told management he wants to stay here, and the Bruins want him. The Bruins moved Ullmark because Swayman has said as much. It's why I think this whole situation kind of struck a nerve with the Bruins. The Bruins made the adjustments to fit him with the cap they have left while Gross has used the media to negotiate publicly with the Bruins. The public leaks weren't just about contract offers but belittling to the Bruins' credibility and reputation. The Bruins have upped their offers, and Gross and Swayman haven't budged. There's a history of Gross doing this.

Where Swayman gets the blame is if he really wants to be a Bruin, he can't just leave his future up to Gross. He left it up to Gross to negotiatie his contract last year which led to them filing for arbitration. Now we keep hearing how Swayman hated the whole arbitration process. Frederic negotiated his deal with the Bruins just fine prior to arbitration. Just like with Gaudreau (RIP) and Nylander, if he wants to be a Bruin, he needs to step in on the contract discussions.

 

[NDiesel]

Oooh! He finished 5th and 7th? Well shit. That changes everything!!! How about him never winning a playoff series? Does that matter to you? Because it does to me. I couldn’t give a flying f*** about individual awards if you can’t win in the post season.

Probably has a lot more to do with the Predators being a bottom 2 seed every year in his career rather than Saros not being able to win a series, no? It is a TEAM sport after all....

 

[KrejciMVP]

A lot of the "Swayman is being a baby" crowd are being seriously dishonest in here.

Stop acting like if you had a salary negotiation with your employer and they turned every possible thing they could into a negative to justify paying you less that in the next negotiation you'd hold no grudge and happily accept whatever they offered you and wouldn't push for all the pay you could.

And no, him being a pro athlete doesnt make it different. At the end of the day its just an employee/employer dispute

The dude can play for 64 million now. Turning that down makes him look out of touch. The victimhood should stop there

 

[SwayHeyKid]

It's all making sense now.

Yeah not Gen Z but do see a lot of new Gen z nurses, law enforcement and teachers throughout my day.

 

[KillerMillerTime]

He beat the leafs rd 1 is all I've heard for weeks

He prevented the Bruins from being the only franchise in NA sports history from gagging 3-1 leads two years in a row.

 

[smithformeragent]

Being this publicly sensitive I think its best for him to be moved.
This town eats goalies alive let alone with this extra drama.

Agreed.

Every time he lets a bad goal in, let alone loses a playoff series, it'll be "This is the guy who wanted Shesterkin money?"

Rask never lived down the fact that he was physically ill and missed the season finale where the team DNQd or when he chose not to go to the bubble. (At least for many fans, or a particularly vocal segment of some fans)

 

[EverettMike]

Stop it. This kid is doing himself and his team no favors. How does this positively impact the locker room. Is anyone this dense to not see a problem with how he’s conducting himself?? I’m getting to the point where I say F this kid and move him now

Stop stating facts? Why? I know it's not convenient when people want to shit on him, but that doesn't change the fact that no matter how you think he reacted to the arbitration hearing off the ice that did not impact his play on it. He responded like a professional.

Or are you disputing that?

 

[Oates2Neely]

I can’t recall the last time we heard a Boston athlete whine to the media for over a year that his feelings were hurt about the criticisms of his team during a contract negotiation/ arbitration.

 

[Smitty93]

Agreed.

Every time he lets a bad goal in, let alone loses a playoff series, it'll be "This is the guy who wanted Shesterkin money?"

Rask never lived down the fact that he was physically ill and missed the season finale where the team DNQd or when he chose not to go to the bubble. (At least for many fans, or a particularly vocal segment of some fans)

Let's be honest, people would be publicly complaining about him giving up a bad goal whether he makes $5, $10, or $15M. Can we really say the public negatively impacted Rask's play?

 

[EverettMike]

Is the compensation on all offer sheets based on the total money divided by 5 seasons? Or is that only for deals that exceed five?

For example, if Detroit signed Swayman to a one-year $15 million deal today, would the compensation be based on an AAV of 3 or 15?

 

[JAD]

Based on Swayman's comments ...
What happens should management give him everything he wants now? What becomes of that emotional fire that drove him to prove his distractors wrong? Will he be able to sustain his high level of play without the hatred to motivate him? Or will he become complacent without an external force to motivate him, feeling he has accomished what he set out to do? What will be his new driving focre?

Be weary of heaping to much reward success upon a young athlete too soon. I would rather he stay slightly pissed feeling he still has something to prove. If management has to play the bad guys by not giving in to his full demands, then so be it, as long as it drives him to be the best that he can be. It's called dangling the carrot in front of the horse.

 

[Smitty93]

Is the compensation on all offer sheets based on the total money divided by 5 seasons? Or is that only for deals that exceed five?

For example, if Detroit signed Swayman to a one-year $15 million deal today, would the compensation be based on an AAV of 3 or 15?

Only deals that exceed five years