Player Discussion Jeremy Swayman: VII- Swayman's agent basically calls Cam a liar

[Guelph Bruin]

 

[Carl Hungus]

What a silly take. This is why Neely put this spin out there. To win support for dumping him for pennies on the dollar.

Oh please

 

[CellyHard]

I bet there was language between Neely and Gross that inferred 8 without saying it. Something like we have 6.5 out there and you have 9.5, what are you thinking we could do to resolve this so that we can get Swayman on the ice? (the obvious being to meet in the middle)

Clearly picked up by Gross but he drives a hard bargain so he brushed it off

My best guess. I think it still makes Gross a "liar" in this situation. It never felt like he was trying to compromise.

 

[SwayHeyKid]

I have no doubt Sweeney at least made an overt and obvious statement in negotiations that they would go to $64m.

Perhaps the technical offers are at 7x8 vs 9x8 and Sweeney said they could meet in the middle or split the difference.

Or Sweeney said they are willing to go up to 8m AAV but did not say anything about term, but they had only been discussing 8 yr term.

Gross is lying here. Neely's statement was deliberate and I am sure discussed with everyone prior to the press conference.

He's kind of a lose cannon. His snicker about being surprised by how much Swayman wanted was another flub. Jacobs and Sweeney were great.

 

[BruinDust]

That's not a fair analogy as the 7/1 UFA window is very narrow and they had pressing needs to address before those guys signed elsewhere. They had plenty of time to work the Swayman deal and left more than plenty of cap space open for him....never thinking he'd be looking to more than double his salary.

It is fair, they had piles of time to get Swayman's next deal figured out before July 1st. Literally months of time.

You said it yourself, they had pressing needs to address. Well that is in the eye of the beholder isn't it? This front office felt priortizing an above-average two-way centerman and journeyman 3rd pair physical D-man was more important than their supposed now and future No.1 goaltender.

Sweeney is well aware of where the salary cap is headed, if he didn't think Swayman coming in with a big ask, that's on him.

The question none of us know, even with a drastically escalating salary cap, do the Bruins still intend to spend to the cap?

 

[Scotto74]

Or I'd be the greatest sports agent in the history of planet earth.

Another poster said that Sweeney would just dismiss my argument (the Lindholm contract). I don't know what your experience is in business but in my experience, outright ignoring the other parties argument doesn't do much to further negotiations. Typically outright ignorance in a negotiation hardens the party who put forward the argument. A response is at the very least warranted, even if its not what the other party wants to hear. I'd love to hear Sweeney explain why he decided to pay an aging and declining player from outside the organization roughly the same as he's willing to pay Swayman who is younger and entering, not exiting, his prime. Contracts signed by Sweeney are fair game, doesn't matter who the player is or what position they play. In particular contracts recently signed. I don't really understand why that is so hard to comprehend.

Once again, if you want to believe this negotiation is simply a battle of goalie comparables, then go right ahead. I'm not that naive.

I have a pretty long history in the business world and just because you want to compare two things that have nothing to do with one another doesn’t mean the other side will listen. I understand how comps work and its been part of my daily job for over 20 years.

Once again if you want to believe your feelings matter in negotiations, the go right ahead. Im not that naive.

Feelings and business have about as much comp value as comparing 25 year old RFA goalies with 3 years of experience who you control if they play or not over the next two years to 29 year old forwards with 11 years experience that you have to bid against other teams to obtain.

One of these things is not like the others

 

[Shroud of Orrin]

I’m sure at some point Don or Cam asked Brad to talk to Swayman. We will never know but that clash in culture may have been the point where things went south…

 

[JCRO]

Was this whole thing Neelys way of letting Sway know what they’ve offered in the event it hasn’t gotten back to him through his agent?

I guess we’ll find out if the next piece of news is Sway fired Gross

 

[SwayHeyKid]

Walk me through how the other side lying makes sense. I don't mean rehash why it doesn't make sense for the Bruins to lie. I mean what does Gross or Swayman have to gain through the lie.

They could sign the 8/64 to save face I am guessing?

 

[BruinDust]

I do not know the answer but what did Dallas give Oettinger? That is the rare one I'd replace Swayman with no hesitation.

I said in an earlier post I see a few true comparables for Swayman. Oettinger, Shesterkin, and when healthy, Demko.

Problem is, we don't know what their next contract is like. If we did, I think the picture here is much clearer.

 

[UncleRico]

The amount of people who think Gross would risk his Agents license and therefore his entire career by intentionally not disclosing a contract to swayman is insane.

Fandom is a hell of a drug.

 

[PB37]

We know nothing about specific contract talks, but we should all know business negotiations can be ruthless (as we've seen today now from both sides), there are no rules in this, and if all this negotiation was a battle of goalie comparables like two posters going at each other on HF Boards, why has this taken so long to resolve? I mean seriously, there are only 60-odd goalies in the league and only I'd say 10-15 are realistic comparables. How long does it take for both sides to exhaust their list of comparables if all they can point to are goaltenders? They could of hashed this out in a week if that was the case.

Bottom line is Sweeney sent a message to the Swayman camp back in July when he decided to prioritize the Lindholm and Zadorov contracts and leaving what was left over for Swayman. The message was sent, we value these players from outside the organization more than you. That will ultimately prove to be a major mistake and flies in the face of pro sports management 101. Take care of your stars and the rest will fall into place. Prioritize mid-tier players over your stars and this will be the sort of circus you can expect. Right out of the Harry Sinden/Mike O'Connell playbook.

It's like when in the fall of 2020, they extended Kevan Miller and Chara was still unsigned. We knew right away that was odd, that they took care of Miller before Chara. And that is exactly how it played out.

The hockey world is laughing at the Bruins right now because it's clear as day now how this all ends. Some other organization will get themselves arguably the best young goalie on the planet for a nickel and two quarters.

Imagine the egg on Sweeney's face in April when he trades Swayman within the Eastern conference and both Swayman and Ullmark are leading their teams into the playoffs while the Bruins are going golfing.

Yes, of course a UFA contract by the very nature of the open market has a higher priority than an in house RFA. Bruins filled needs on the open market and left enough in the bank to make Swayman the third highest paid Bruin on the team and 5th highest at his position around the league. I really don't understand your position on this... seems like an awful lot of pie in the sky reaching.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

The amount of people who think Gross would risk his Agents license and therefore his entire career by intentionally not disclosing a contract to swayman is insane.

Fandom is a hell of a drug.

He's obviously lying no matter the specifics. The Bruins especially Sweeney are no saints but in this it seems clear. This is all too familiar in MLB. Agents egos are inflated.

 

[HumBucker]

I’m just referring to the subheading in the article. It says “Swayman’s agent refutes the offer”. That’s incorrect. Swayman’s agent “disputes” it, not “refutes” it. I’m criticizing the writing. One would think that a newspaper editor, or copy-editor, would know how to use “refutes” correctly. But, alas, no.

These days? With the state journalism is in? They probably let go all their copy editors several years ago.

 

[danpantz]

The amount of people who think Gross would risk his Agents license and therefore his entire career by intentionally not disclosing a contract to swayman is insane.

Fandom is a hell of a drug.

Isn’t Neely risking his job too by leaking that deal though?

If he’s lying he should be fired now

 

[badbrewin]

Anyone exactly know how player agents get remunerated? Since player agents get paid when their clients do, what happens to Gross' fee in a situation such as Gaudreau's nullified contract? The insurer will indemnify his spouse with 1 year's salary, when I in fact he had another 5-6 years left on a $9M+ AAV deal. Gross likely loses out on that revenue, so I wonder if he's trying to compensate via Swayman.

Bit of a conspiracy theory, but maybe not that far fetched to rationalize this craziness.

 

[Gee Wally]

 

[BTO]

These days? With the state journalism is in? They probably let go all their copy editors several years ago.

Yes, I know. I’m just irritated because I’m increasing seeing it everywhere. Yes, I know, language changes over time. Doesn’t mean I have to like it .

 

[Skelen]

Was this whole thing Neelys way of letting Sway know what they’ve offered in the event it hasn’t gotten back to him through his agent?

I guess we’ll find out if the next piece of news is Sway fired Gross

I thought the same myself. For all we know Sway and Gross came up with a number and he told Sway I'll let you know when there is something to sign. Gross could be sticking to a number and not going back to Sway until he gets there, resulting in Sway being upset at the negotiations. I love the drama, just hate that our team/players are involved.

 

[Dr Quincy]

Isn’t Neely risking his job too by leaking that deal though?

If he’s lying he should be fired now

That's why I don't think either guy is "lying". Someone is playing a semantic or numbers game.

 

[Caper Bruins fan]

Isn’t Neely risking his job too by leaking that deal though?

If he’s lying he should be fired now

If Swayman and his agent are content with a 64 million dollar deal aren’t the Bruins kind of locked into it now even if Neely was lying ( don’t think he was ) ? Why not just stop all this nonsense and sign tomorrow?

 

[Shroud of Orrin]

Somebody is gettin fired!

 

[Greek_physique]

Maybe Boston offered him $64 million Canadian and Sway wants it in American money lol

 

[SwayHeyKid]

At today’s press conference, $64 million was referenced. This was the first time that number was discussed in our negotiations. Prior to the press conference, no offer was made reaching that level.

Hmmm did the Bruins scramble and get that offer out to Gross after the press conference?

 

[4ORRBRUIN]

It is fair, they had piles of time to get Swayman's next deal figured out before July 1st. Literally months of time.

You said it yourself, they had pressing needs to address. Well that is in the eye of the beholder isn't it? This front office felt priortizing an above-average two-way centerman and journeyman 3rd pair physical D-man was more important than their supposed now and future No.1 goaltender.

Sweeney is well aware of where the salary cap is headed, if he didn't think Swayman coming in with a big ask, that's on him.

The question none of us know, even with a drastically escalating salary cap, do the Bruins still intend to spend to the cap?

Hmm an above average centerman and a third pair D was I'm sure on top of their list before getting Sway signed. Thankfully that didn't sign any of those guys you mentioned.

I love the weak narrative that the GM had "plenty of time", it takes two to start the real conversations don't you think?

What makes you think there is any possibility of them not spending to the cap? What is telling you they wont? Throwing that out there is nuts.