Don Sweeney says Jeremy Swayman remains unsigned, rips ‘inaccurate’ reports
"I'm disappointed, but at the end of the day, I'm optimistic because I think we'll find a landing spot before Dec. 1.”
The Bruins will return to the ice in Brighton on Thursday for their first skate of training camp.
But it won’t be a full-squad session, as Jeremy Swayman will not be out on the frozen sheet with the rest of his teammates, with Don Sweeney noting on Wednesday afternoon that the 25-year-old netminder will not report to training camp until a contract is struck.
“Jeremy Swayman will not be in attendance tomorrow on the ice,” Sweeney said. “He has chosen to wait, and rightfully so, until a contract is settled. It’s our intention to continue to negotiate a contract. I’m disappointed that when you set things as a priority in a general manager’s spot that you do your best to try and accomplish that and I haven’t been able to do that yet.”
Even though the Bruins do hold Swayman’s rights as an RFA, time isn’t exactly on Boston’s side with training camp officially underway.
According to the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement, if both the Bruins and Swayman are unable to come to terms on a deal prior to Dec. 1, Swayman will be ineligible to play for the remainder of the season and the playoffs.
“I will not go in depth of the negotiations or talks we had,” Sweeney said. “We’re excited about the players that are here and looking to move forward. As I said, I’m disappointed, but at the end of the day, I’m optimistic because I think we’ll find a landing spot before Dec. 1.”
An extended holdout for Swayman amid stalled contract talks stands as a lose-lose for all parties. Swayman will be sapped of valuable camp reps ahead of what is expected to be the heaviest workload of his career, while Boston now operating with Joonas Korpisalo and Brandon Bussi atop the goalie depth chart.
“Every day that Jeremy is out hurts our team and it hurts him,” Sweeney said, adding: “But it’s not going to stop from hopefully finding common ground and getting it done. I’m not going to predict, but I firmly believe he will be in before Dec. 1 because we all want him to play hockey and our team will be better for it.”
Swayman’s contract talks with the Bruins have hovered over Boston all offseason, with several reports painting the picture of contentious discourse between the team and Swayman’s camp as they try to bridge the gap on term and payout.
In his latest “32 Thoughts” column published on Monday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said that the Bruins and Swayman are still trying to “bridge the philosophical differences” in negotiations.
Friedman reported earlier this month that Swayman was asking for a contract similar to Charlie McAvoy’s $9.5 million annual payout — with the Bruins netminder referencing the NHL’s rising cap ceiling and the state of the goalie market on the “Shut Up Marc Podcast” in August.
While it remains to be seen what concessions the Bruins and Swayman will have to make as far as term and salary when pen is finally put to paper, Sweeney did strongly push back against what he called several “inaccurate” reports about the team’s ongoing negotiations.
In particular, Sweeney took umbrage with Barstool Sports’ “Spittin’ Chiclets” podcast — which he purposefully referred to as the “Spit Up On Yourself Podcast”.
During a podcast episode earlier this month, former NHL defenseman and “Spittin’ Chiclets” host Ryan Whitney said — referencing a “reliable” source — that the Bruins offered Swayman a four-year deal worth $6.2 million per year, adding that Boston had not “contacted or returned Swayman’s calls in three weeks”.
“I think it’s bull-[expletive] that somebody says I wouldn’t return a call for three weeks,” Swayman said. “There. That’s inaccurate. Was it said? Was it written? I will tell you, I don’t listen to podcasts. My son loves [Paul Bissonnette], thinks he’s fabulous. I think he’s a great entertainer.
“But at the end of the day, they’re inaccurate. And that’s OK because that’s all part of the business nowadays. It’s OK if you turn around and say it’s your opinion, your belief, but don’t report it as fact. That’s all. That’s all I’m asking.”
As the reports continue to swirl about the state of Swayman’s contract talks, one thing is certain — Boston will not have one of its franchise pillars in place as the preparations for the 2024-25 season begin in earnest.
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