God, I f***ing hate winter but I’m glad hockey is back.
That said, Neely and the Bruins can hang their coat on “44 games max” like a hook made out of diamond. Bussi isn’t that much older (screw it; give him a shot) and while Swayman absolutely has the right to seek what he believes he’s worth, likely due to his agent, he doesn’t seem to be willing to accept that there could be a way to negotiate this contract in a way that doesn’t immediately weaken the Bruins.
It’s partially the B’s fault for trading Ullmark and signing Zadorov and Lindholm before minding the mess in their own closet. Still, Swayman seems to display an inflexibility here on a level from which, after those arbitration hearings obviously stung him as they did, he and/or his agent seem incapable of vacating.
From a managerial perspective, this matter getting so loud risks steering any return on a trade intended to open cap room for Sway to straight-up ‘abfall’, and while Swayman is dealing with numbers rooted in hypotheticals, that “44 starts” number the Bruins can point at is etched in record.
I don’t believe Swayman is explicitly greedy. I do think Lewis Gross is an explicit wanker.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
(Everyone wishing their management played hardball like they do in Vegas? Bear witness.)