Swayman Vs The Bruins

[brentashton]

It's not like Swayman's contract is his only source of income. You'd think with his savvy "business acumen" that he'd understand sponsorship dollars, investments, etc. go a LONG way with a guaranteed $64m, but he's kind of hurting his marketability right now... a lot.

You could argue this is enhancing his visibility and this marketability. To suggest it’s hurting, would suggest he’s all to blame. That hasn’t been proven at all.

 

[Ghost of Murph]

The billionaire vs millionaire argument has zero to do with Swayman. The player's union is responsible for that aspect. Boston spends to the cap every season, like every other contender.

When Swayman asks for an unjustified salary relative to other comps, that is on him, nobody else. He wants a bigger slice of the cap pie than he's worth. If he gets 9-10 per then Boston has to move someone else to be cap compliant, will be handcuffed at the deadline, and will have decreased leeway throughout the season to make call-ups as they see fit to improve the team.

Swayman is being incredibly selfish and to hell with the team. Just so he can set some unrealistic market for goalie pay that I guarantee will have little effect around the league. No chance in hell a team would give him what he's asking for if he were a UFA. He's not even that. Jeremy is about Jeremy. Now that the league has seen what kind of goof Swayman is, good luck to Boston trying to trade a snowflake greedy goalie and getting anything halfway decent in return. No team is going to offer him any better than what Boston has stupidly offered .

 

[SensontheRush]

You could argue this is enhancing his visibility and this marketability. To suggest it’s hurting, would suggest he’s all to blame. That hasn’t been proven at all.

i think it's pretty clear that he has damaged his relationship with a significant portion of Bruins fans, though I can also see bygones being bygones when/if he does sign; however, I would still say that there are probably some fans that won't look past this.

Now, he can definitely grow his out of market status by playing like a f***ing superstar, which would effectively eliminate these damages.

 

[JPT]

It's funny because most pro athletes have to live through everything that you mentioned as well.

- Multiple jobs? Check! Not every athlete makes millions.
- Custody of children? Check!
- commute? Is there anyone who commutes MORE than pro athletes???

Add to that the lifelong Spartan training since they're babies, the thousands of heads they need to step on constantly, the extreme pressure to perform, the hyper likelyhood of severe bodily injury, etc...

Sounds harder than sending an application to Burger King to me.


English is my third language, please forgive my less than stellar skills. Correcting me is unnecessary.

And, no they really don't. If you believe another man's salary affects you, maybe you're the selfish one? Pretty sure his living matters more than your entertainment.

How many people do you think work at Burger King?

 

[thebestnic]

The billionaire vs millionaire argument has zero to do with Swayman. The player's union is responsible for that aspect. Boston spends to the cap every season, like every other contender.

When Swayman asks for an unjustified salary relative to other comps, that is on him, nobody else. He wants a bigger slice of the cap pie than he's worth. If he gets 9-10 per then Boston has to move someone else to be cap compliant, will be handcuffed at the deadline, and will have decreased leeway throughout the season to make call-ups as they see fit to improve the team.

Swayman is being incredibly selfish and to hell with the team. Just so he can set some unrealistic market for goalie pay that I guarantee will have little effect around the league. No chance in hell a team would give him what he's asking for if he were a UFA. He's not even that. Jeremy is about Jeremy. Now that the league has seen what kind of goof Swayman is, good luck to Boston trying to trade a snowflake greedy goalie and getting anything halfway decent in return. No team is going to offer him any better than what Boston has stupidly offered .

Kiss the boots

 

[Boxscore]

You could argue this is enhancing his visibility and this marketability. To suggest it’s hurting, would suggest he’s all to blame. That hasn’t been proven at all.

Generally speaking, I tend to side with the "worker" in these situations. However, when it comes to NHL players in a cap world, there is a gray area. I mean, in this case, Swayman (or his representation) is to blame. The Bruins have operated in good faith and haven't lowballed him. He must know the cap exists and the implications paying him more than they offered will have on it. Swayman is acting like he's prime Marty Brodeur here with a stack of Vezinas and Cups on his shelves. Turning down 60+ million guaranteed and then playing the victim card? I dunno... as a fan... supporting that is a hard ask.

 

[Ghost of Murph]

Kiss the boots

Do explain how that is kissing boots in a league with a cap. Disagreeing with taking away money from someone else just to enrich yourself more is not boot kissing. When Swayman asks for more money, then it takes away from someone else. This isn't complex.

 

[StickShift]

I genuinely wonder if Swayman and his agent are holding out for a high AAV just to spite the Bruins—and whether their acceptable number would actually be much lower with a different team that trades for him.

 

[WaitingForThatCab]

It's funny because most pro athletes have to live through everything that you mentioned as well.

- Multiple jobs? Check! Not every athlete makes millions.
- Custody of children? Check!
- commute? Is there anyone who commutes MORE than pro athletes???

Add to that the lifelong Spartan training since they're babies, the thousands of heads they need to step on constantly, the extreme pressure to perform, the hyper likelyhood of severe bodily injury, etc...

Sounds harder than sending an application to Burger King to me.

The idea that high tier athletes have a tortured existence because they have to train is absolutely deranged. In North America, there is maybe no single group of people who get as many perks through primary school, secondary school, and the university system as top athletes. Plenty of people have awful daily commutes, plenty of people have to travel constantly for work, and yet very few of them get to travel on private jets.

People who drop out of high school and work full time in some of the dirtiest, ugliest, shittiest jobs on earth (jobs necessary for you to enjoy your lifestyle) to support their ailing parents? Folks, they have it easy out there.


Celebrity worship and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race.

 

[thebestnic]

Do explain how that is kissing boots in a league with a cap. Disagreeing with taking away money from someone else just to enrich yourself more is not boot kissing. When Swayman asks for more money, then it takes away from someone else. This isn't complex.

It's his rights to negotiate a contract. The whole fall in line and stop being a snowflake schtick sounds like kissing the boots to me

 

[Boxscore]

calling Swayman selfish he was being unfair, as Sway is negociating his living's worth with a billionnaire employer

Context is needed, no?

In a world with no hard cap, Swayman fighting for every penny available would be admirable, and calling him selfish would be unfair imho. But since there is a hard cap, very good players only have two choices:

1. Fight for every penny while limiting the quality of support their teams can surround them with.

2. Leave some money on the table to play for a quality team, in a good city, with good fans.

It's one or the other. Then, term and dollars also need to be factored in. If the Bruins only offered Swayman 3 years or 5 million, then I could see why he would be insulted. But they committed to him for 8 years for 62.4 million guaranteed. That's multi-generational financial security we're talking about here. Turning that down, and either forcing the Bruins to trade you or surround you with an overall inferior team, is being selfish. It doesn't mean the kid is wrong or right... but it is selfish.

 

[brentashton]

Generally speaking, I tend to side with the "worker" in these situations. However, when it comes to NHL players in a cap world, there is a gray area. I mean, in this case, Swayman (or his representation) is to blame. The Bruins have operated in good faith and haven't lowballed him. He must know the cap exists and the implications paying him more than they offered will have on it. Swayman is acting like he's prime Marty Brodeur here with a stack of Vezinas and Cups on his shelves. Turning down 60+ million guaranteed and then playing the victim card? I dunno... as a fan... supporting that is a hard ask.

In the public arena aspect of the negotiation, how do you know which “side” is telling the full truth, partial truth or flat out misleading their position and actions?

Unless Cam Neely or Sweeney have verified accounts on here, I doubt anyone does and that’s why I don’t think his marketability is damaged.

As an NHL player I think more people know his name today than did 4 weeks ago. Once he’s signed or traded to a new market he will resume his career with little damage. I don’t understand what would have damaged it to this point.

 

[KevinRedkey]

2023 off-season:
Boston's arbitration ask was 2.000
Swayman's was 4.800

Swayman ended up playing at a level above either of those numbers. Now, Boston has low-balled him once again, this time for 3 entire months before eventually offering something reasonable.

Regarding the recent 8x8 offer:
It very much has the "I'd have taken your offer originally, but your bad-faith tactics made the price go up" energy IMO. Maybe if Boston hadn't dragged their feet through the mud for so long, their starting goalie wouldn't be as hellbent on getting what he's worth.

 

[HabzSauce]

lol, please.

There are a lot of people in this economy who work two jobs,11 to 12 months a year just to make ends meet. Lots of folks who have full time jobs and are single parents with full time custody of children they must raise, feed and protect. Some who have to commute 3, 4 hours a day just to get to and from work.

Good for hockey players who earn an amazing amount of cash. But the "it's really a tough life being a hockey player" act is pure bullshit.

100%.

What sounds better - working 8 hours a day training on the ice, gym, etc - eating healthy food that's cooked for you, being at your best physically and mentally all while doing something you love

OR

Working in a cubicle taking phone calls all day long about crap you don't care about, while also having to commute 1-2 hours a day just to barely be able to survive. And probably in bad physical shape too because you barely have anytime leftover in your day to go to the gym and/or eat healthy.

Give me the pro hockey life all day long no questions asked.

 

[Score08]

You’re terribly uninformed on how contract negotiations/demands in a union environment work.

Don’t need to be a lawyer to figure out swayman putting on master class on what not to do in contract negotiations

 

[BM14]

Don’t need to be a lawyer to figure out swayman putting on master class on what not to do in contract negotiations.

I suspect you’d major in bird law.

 

[Score08]

I suspect you’d major in bird law.

Awesome comeback. You want to make fun of my mom next?

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Ironically he benefitted tremendously from the Habs refusal to give him a long term deal at first. Turned a 2 year bridge deal into a 72 million dollar contract.

Which Bergevin fought him tooth and nail on before Molson personally intervened and settled it. It was ridiculous for Subban to go through that.

 

[TooManyHumans]

When Swayman asks for an unjustified salary relative to other comps, that is on him, nobody else. He wants a bigger slice of the cap pie than he's worth.

He's worth what he can get. That has yet to be determined.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I have no problem with players getting what they deserve, problem is Swayman is getting ahead of himself a little bit.

I think players, when given the opportunity, should reset the market, but you gotta be the right guy to do it. Swayman is not that guy, that guy is Shesterkin, he is the guy in the right situation with the right resume to be able to push the market forward for goalies, not a guy that has played half the games and had one decent playoff series.

Swayman trying to reset the market would be akin to Bedard signing a new deal based on this past season and expecting to set the market. He may be that good one day, but that man is not him, that man is named Connor McDavid.

Now if Swayman wants to sign a two to four year deal, put in good work playing 60 games a year for the next couple years he could be that guy or one of those guys, but with his current body of work it comes off as not only being a stretch but just flat out wrong.

If Boston is offering him anywhere North of 6.5 then he is being offered based on what he has proven so far. Yes you pay for potential sometimes, but potential from goalie isn't worth 4 extra million a season.

I don't think there's any chance that the NHLPA isn't at least in contact with Swayman on this. Not the same sport but I know that the NFL's player association was advising Lamar Jackson during his beef with the Baltimore Ravens.