Report: Bruins Lowballed Star Goalie
The Boston Bruins are closing in on training camp ahead of the 2024-25 season, yet they still haven’t signed expected starting goalie Jeremy Swayman. The 25-year-old netminder has been a restricted free agent all summer and with the new year right around the corner, he is still without a contract.
Both the Bruins and Swayman have stated their confidence in getting a deal done before the start of training camp, but there may still be a lot of ground to cover. According to Ryan Whitney on the Spittin’ Chiclets Podcast, the Bruins’ current offer might be coming in a bit low.
Whitney says the Bruins offer to Swayman is four years at $6.2 million annually, well below what Swayman and his camp have been rumored to be looking for. Swayman could be looking for upwards of $10 million against the salary cap, nowhere near this new report.
“If their offer is four years at $6.2 million after you traded your other stud goalie” Whitney said. “That’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard.”
The Bruins pledged their commitment to Swayman when they dealt Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators this offseason. Swayman and Ullmark split the starting role in Boston for three seasons and it worked out well during regular season play.
Swayman and Ullmark won the Jennings Trophy as the NHL’s best goalie duo in 2022-23 while the Bruins ran away with the President’s Trophy in a record-setting season.
Aside from the lowball offer, Whitney also notes that the Bruins may be ghosting their star goalie.
“That is not even on the same planet,” Whitney said. “That is so far away. And apparently, the Bruins have not contacted or returned Swayman’s calls in three weeks.”
The Bruins have started informal skates with some of their players and Swayman has been among the participants. There is still no worry about a holdout from Swayman, but the Bruins need to quickly get a reasonable offer on the table.