The Boston Bruins announced they have agreed to an eight-year contract extension worth $66 million with goaltender Jeremy Swayman.
SWAY. IS. SIGNED. ?️ pic.twitter.com/CHewi2swjF
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) October 6, 2024
Swayman’s new annual average value is $8.25 million, and the contract includes $23 million in signing bonus money and a no-trade clause.
8 x $8.25 M AAV for Swayman https://t.co/JgidBsw1uE
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) October 6, 2024
$23M bonuses, with a no-trade clause.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 6, 2024
Swayman was a restricted free agent who had just finished a one-year deal worth $3.475 million, awarded in arbitration last off-season. As it has been documented, the Bruins goaltender did not want to go through that process again.
Jeremy Swayman Contract Dispute Shows How Goalies Will Be Paid Moving Forward
Both parties had the right to go through the arbitration process but chose against it. Swayman was dug in on his ask to reset the market on being paid on potential, while the Bruins did not want to pay him over $9 million on an AAV.
This past week’s events that saw Bruins President Cam Neely say, “I have 64 million reasons why I’d be playing right now.” Swayman’s agent, Lewis Gross, followed that up by saying We are extremely disappointed. We will take a few days to discuss where we go from here.”
In the end, the Bruins and Swayman worked out a deal to get the goaltender on the roster before the 5 p.m. Monday deadline.
Swayman’s new AAV is the Ilya Sorokin received on his eight-year extension. NHLRumors.com has also written about this number as a landing spot for the two parties to agree to.
?Night Cap Recap ?
Jeremy Swayman Back with the Boston Bruins. New Deal Signed #nhlbruins @MurphysLaw74 @ShukriWrights @jamiemclennan29 pic.twitter.com/pTGRW6BuVa
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) October 6, 2024
Everyone knows this is the most important position in the sport. In 132 Appearances and 125 starts, Swayman has a record of 79-33-15 with a .919 save percentage and a 2.34 goals-against average. These numbers are some of the best for a player drafted in the fourth round (111th overall) in the 2017 NHL Draft.
Cam Neely Throws Out $64 million; Jeremy Swayman’s Agent Has Never Discussed That Number
Swayman had been splitting starts with Linus Ullmark over the past few seasons. However, he took the reigns from Ullmark last season, especially in the playoffs. In the playoffs, Swayman had a 6-6 record with a 2.15 goals-against average and an NHL-best .933 save percentage in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Bruins fell to their rival, the Florida Panthers, in the second round. Soon after, Ullmark was traded to Ottawa, and Swayman became the true number-one goalie, with Joonas Korpisalo being his backup and Brandon Bussi as the next in line.
The Bruins and Swayman get this done in the nick of time with the regular season for the Bruins to go on Tuesday, October 8th. Boston has been seeking its first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 2019.