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...

 

[nORRis8]

gross has a history but I only really paid attention to the Nylander stuff mainly thru Leafs board and it was 100X more shit show then this

Listened to Frank Seravelli on Tuesday.
Tested my IQ a few times last month and it ranged in around 131-139.
After listening to him spew for over an hour I can honestly say it dropped to 110.

Completely pro-player.
The other two assclowns as well squashed the Nylander story but one thing is certain....
Nylander was looking for 7 million. Basically to get overpaid by 3.5 million.He's an RFA man!!!! He scored like 48 goals in his 2 1/2 seasons!!!
He holds out right till December 1st when a deal is done.
Leafs stroke a cheque for 6.9.
Something definitely happened, likely some sidestepping on Nylanders part.

In the end...players just want to play hockey.
Swayman...no different.

 

[4ORRBRUIN]

For those of you eager to see him gone I think you'll get your wish because I predict tomorrow he's going to say he wants a trade citing Cam Neely's lie and lack of trust with the organization.

I hope you are correct

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Does Umaine not offer business classes on arbitration hearings?


But if you're that guy who wants top dollar shouldn't you move the needle? Spend that money on a goal scorer then

He did, he's the reason they were even in round 2.

Doesn't matter how good a goalie is, they arent going to overcome an anemic offense. (not saying he's on this level, dont get all defensive) Hasek lost a 7 game series with a .950 sv%

 

[EverettMike]

I hope you are correct

Honestly so am I, but for a very different reason than you.

 

[Absurdity]

When I read that he will do "everything in my power to be a Bruin..." my immediate thought is OK, then why not simply say "yes"?

Gross is the problem, not Swayman or the Bruins.

 

[4ORRBRUIN]

Honestly so am I, but for a very different reason than you.

I see things different

Are you hoping the Bruins crash and burn with Korpo?

 

[DiggityDog]

If he falters the pressure will be exponentially worse than a small arbitration hearing. This is Boston afterall

100%

Yet another place I feel his representation has really done a disservice to him.

 

[Dr Hook]

Gross is the problem, not Swayman or the Bruins.

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

 

[Bruinaura]

I much prefer the Goalie Hug days to this mess

 

[SwayHeyKid]

Did he say check on he was not reliable in the playoffs? Insinuating that they where wrong?

This kid is a clown and should be sent packing.

Please Bruins get rid of him, this is going to be a disaster if you sign him.

"Their biggest knock was that I wasn't trustworthy in the playoffs" They brought up ridiculously his 3 wins in 5 games vs the Canes and his game 7 loss vs Florida on him. In case you missed it THEY TRUSTED HIM TO BE THEIR NUMBER ONE GOALIE THESE PAST PLAYOFFS. Check.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

Like I’ve pointed out plenty of times here, the cap issues come not from signing your best players to fair market deals, but from extending yourself on overpayments to bottom of the roster players. In this case, Korpisalo, Peeke, and Zadorov jump right to the top of the list.

I’m mean shit, would you rather overpay your starting goalie by a little bit or grossly overpay your bottom pairing dmen and your back up goalie? It’s foolhardy to be arguing over a small amount of money for an impact player when you’re paying your bottom pairing nearly $8 mill a year collectively.

Ask Toronto how overpaying the top crippled the franchise as well.

A very delicate balance.

Ideally pay players what they are worth especially internally, non unrestricted free agents.

Giving Swayman $9.5 because it's only 1.5 extra adds quickly.

McAvoy and Pastrnak accepted fair value offers. No discount, but hardly overpaid. Swayman accepting 8x8 should be an easy decision even for his ego.

 

[TD Charlie]

I do not want a trade. At all. Perhaps I’m wrong but i can’t see the value being great, especially if he goes public with the trade request. I also don’t trust Sweeney to navigate the trade.

 

[Ladyfan]

Arya Stark kept a list too...didn't end well for those on it

I have one of those Arya lists.

 

[KrejciMVP]

He did, he's the reason they were even in round 2.

Doesn't matter how good a goalie is, they arent going to overcome an anemic offense. (not saying he's on this level, dont get all defensive) Hasek lost a 7 game series with a .950 sv%

Have to factor in the leafs typically puke all over themselves come playoff time. Bruins goalies almost never lose to Toronto

 

[EverettMike]

I see things different

Are you hoping the Bruins crash and burn with Korpo?

No, my thoughts have to do with Jeremy Swayman, the salary cap, the front office, and this fanbase. Without getting into the actual specifics, because it doesn't matter and I don't have the energy to explain myself or for the responses I'd get, I just want to see him move on to a place that isn't Pittsburgh of Montreal so I can still wish him well.

 

[KillerMillerTime]

Shades of Bergeron/Krejci to Coyle/Zacha.

They dropped 26 points in that transiton. Now that was from a NHL record 135 points,
so a drop of 26 points wasn't surprising.

So, if you now go from one of if not the best tending tandems to Korpisalo. Patera, Bussi its completely reasonable to expect a drop of 10 points. Then factor in a normal increase of games lost due to injuries in their top 7F from last year (12G total to say 18G total) and that could cost them 3-4 points. That puts them in WC territory. Any
major injury to Pastrnak, Marchand, Lindholm, Zacha or Coyle would have them 9th
in EC.

 

[badbrewin]

This in a nutshell is what's wrong with the team today. Worrying about paying bottom of the roster stiffs and washed dudes on PTOs instead of taking care of players that are their future. At no point in this world should signing Tyler f***ing Johnson impact anything regarding the Swayman deal.

A guy who competes hard and got 17G / 14A on an atrocious Chicago team last season is far from washed up. His preseason sampling has been very good and TJ was brought in here in case Merkulov and Lysell didn't take the next leap....and guess what.

 

[PB37]

You can phrase it any way you want and say it over and over. All it means is he and Swayman have the same number of Vezina Trophies. Your comp hasn’t won a thing and he hasn’t won a playoff series. Couple that with him having lesser numbers across the board in everything except games played, and I don’t even know why this is being debated.

Because there isn't a debate. Saros has been in serious contention for Vezinas while Swayman has not. Saros has proven he can handle a 60 plus workload for several years in a row now - Swayman has not. Whether you like it or not, that is a better resume and that's why the Bruins initial offers started with figures similar to guys like Saros when he was roughly the same age and similar circumstance in replacing the former Vezina level goaltender #1 of the team. That wasn't good enough for Swayman's camp so the Bruins upped their offer, skipping a bridge deal, and have an offer on the table similar to those who have proven themselves as #1 guys - still not enough and the Bruins most likely have no interest in helping Swayman's wish of setting a new market for goaltenders without having done anything of note yet in his career to demand that.

 

[Number8]

Then we walk him through the streets of Boston, naked, with the shame bell being rung methodically

Quick question before I head off to grocery store. Will I be allowed to throw rotten fruit and vegetables at him?

No worries if answer is no. Just don't want to have a shitload of cabbage around if I don't need to. Tends to give me gas and that's no fun for anyone.

 

[khanomcat]

This is why you don't overpay/overspend on backups/down the lineup players like Korpisalo, Zadorov, and Peeke. Overpaying stars isn't a big deal. Overpaying secondary players is what kills you.

Maple Leafs say hello.

 

[4ORRBRUIN]

I'd like to point out once again that Jeremy Swayman responded to an arbitration hearing that personally upset him by performing as a world-class professional. It didn't impact his play. It actually motivated him to play the best hockey of his career.

Isn't that what the best athletes always do? They use people questioning them as motivation to prove them wrong rather than wallow?

Even if someone thinks he's being a "baby" about arbitration on the ice he responded like a f***ing man

Yes ,he is a baby. Your version of being a fing man is a different than mine.

Problem is he wants to get paid "like the fing man" when he hasn't proven he is.

 

[SwayHeyKid]

I have one of those Arya lists.

I would imagine most do I guess. Life is too short

 

[JoeIsAStud]

And what if the fragile little baby gets his feeling hurt when he has a bad game and goes into the tank?

How does 8x8 look then?

Anything in possible, but there has been nothing in his career so far to indicate that is a likely outcome

 

[Pia8988]

For those of you eager to see him gone I think you'll get your wish because I predict tomorrow he's going to say he wants a trade citing Cam Neely's lie and lack of trust with the organization.

At best he signs a short term deal to get on the ice and facilitate a trade, but Boston has no franchise goalie anymore

 

[Dr Hook]

For those of you eager to see him gone I think you'll get your wish because I predict tomorrow he's going to say he wants a trade citing Cam Neely's lie and lack of trust with the organization.

That would be interesting, especially since I don't think there is a trade market for him right now that makes sense. They would be asking someone to give them assets in line with the player value which, whatever is said here, is solid, and then have to be willing to play $8.5m + a year, probably on a long term. That's a situation where I think there would be very few takers. Unless he is willing to take less because it's not the Bruins, which is a possiblity too.