Jeremy Swayman (Photo by Rich Gagnon/Getty Images)
According to more than one NHL source, Jeremy Swayman’s comments about his contract negotiations with the Boston Bruins affecting the NHL goalie market may have contributed to him remaining unsigned.
As they enter their final week of the 2024-25 preseason, the Bruins and the restricted free agent goalie still haven’t found a way to get the Bruins expected No. 1 goalie back on the ice with his teammates. More than one trusted NHL executive source has opined to RG.org that Swayman’s comments to Marc Lewis of Savage Sports have played a role in the contract stalemate.
“If you were to ask me that question a year ago, I would answer truthfully and say “it’s scary, it’s a lot of resentment towards people that want you to succeed. And when you’re not being compensated for your endless efforts…it’s a nerve-racking feeling because it’s your family you’re fighting for,” Swayman said on Lewis’ podcast in August.
“The answer I’m gonna give you this year, is that I’ve educated myself, and I understand the business side of it all. It’s given me a complete new mindset of understanding the business and how to react to it. I understand the cap is going up and where it will be in years. I understand my comparables and how I can’t ruin the goalie market for guys that are gonna be in my shoes down the line. I went to the school of Business for the university of Maine, and I love the business side of it all.”
Swayman’s stance on behalf of the NHL goalie fraternity, and in effect, the NHLPA, likely didn’t sit well with Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, who, in the eyes of many around the NHL, is a ‘Hawk’ within the NHL Board of Governors.
“I would imagine when he got word of that, he wasn’t too happy,” a veteran NHL executive told RG. “He has always been and still is an influential figure in the NHL Board of Governors. He is the main reason we have an NHL salary cap, and when one of his players is in a contract battle, he takes a stance for the players. I just can’t see that going well.”
That led another NHL executive to wonder to RG if someone from within the NHLPA had gotten to Swayman and his agent, Lewis Gross.
“I’m not saying anyone but Gross, Swayman, and [Bruins GM] Don Sweeney are pulling the strings, but it’s clear to me this has become more than just the Bruins and Swayman,” the source said.
Numerous NHL insiders have speculated the same recently when trying to understand why Swayman and the Bruins haven’t found common ground yet. A common theme this past week was that even New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin was waiting on the outcome of Swayman’s contract negotiations.
As of Monday morning, there was no reported progress on contract talks between the Bruins and Swayman.
James Murphy
With 24 years of experience (SiriusXM NHL Network Radio, ESPN Boston, NESN, NHL.com, etc.) covering the Bruins, the NHL, NCAA and junior hockey, and more, Jimmy Murphy’s hockey black book is filled with Hall of Famers, current players, coaches, management, scouts and a wide array of hockey media personalities that have lived in and around this great game. For 22 of his 24 years as a hockey and sports reporter, Murphy covered the Bruins on a daily basis, including their victorious 2011 Stanley Cup run and their runs to the 2013 and 2019 Finals. Murphy is currently a co-host, along with Pierre McGuire, on The Eye Test Podcast.
