Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast – Sid’s Coming Back episode, on Boston Bruins RFA goaltender Jeremy Swayman and where things are at. Looking back, should the Bruins have taken Swayman to salary arbitration?
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Bukauskas: “Okay, so you mentioned his name just a moment ago, Elliotte, Jeremy Swayman, the RFA netminder in Boston. Negotiation that, by all accounts, had a wide gap, wide gap between the two sides. Any update there? Are they inching any closer?
Friedman: “I’m not hearing anything like that. I know there were some reports that maybe Swayman and the Bruins were closer than you know, people had thought, or even I had thought. I don’t have, again, with the, with the caveat that anything can change in one phone call, I just don’t have any reason to believe that yet at this point in time.
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You know, it should be pointed out that Lewis Gross, who represents Swayman, also represented the Gaudreau brothers. So he had other more important things on his mind. I have no doubt that the Bruins were respectful of that. The whole hockey world was outstanding when it came to just rallying around the family over the last couple of weeks. But I think it put a temporary halt to the Swayman proceedings. And at this point in time, I just don’t have any information that the gap is closed.
What’s really interesting is some of the conversations I had in Vegas about this particular situation, is that they wondered if anybody involved here would go back in time, if they could, if you could use and had access to HG Wells Time Machine, that’s a really hip young reference, but if you had access to HG Wells Time Machine, could you go back in time and say, we’ll do arbitration.
And I think Swayman is pretty clear that he wouldn’t, but I wonder if the Bruins would. You know if the Bruins would have done it then, then Swayman could pick the term of the award one or two years, and two years walks him right to unrestricted free agency. The Bruins knew that. They wanted no part of that. They were well aware of that idea.
But I just wonder now, if with a little bit of 20-20 hindsight, and this is always second-guessing, the Bruins would just say, you know what, we should have taken the two-year award that they would have asked for, and we could have dealt with, we would have at least had him sign for two years at an arbitration number, which everyone could have lived with. and then sorted out the long term contract either next summer or during the following season.
Like they signed Pasternak, you know, 60% into his unrestricted free agent year. They got it all worked out. Like so, I kind of look at this and wonder if we could do this all over again, if the Bruins would just say, ah, we’ll fall into the arbitration two-year trap and deal with it later, punt the problem down the road.
Because, you know, right, it hasn’t been easy. It’s been very challenging, and I don’t know yet what the solution here is going to be.
Bukauskas: “I guess I’m just trying to understand here, like last year in the playoffs, Swayman was their guy when the chips were down.
Friedman: “Yes.”
Bukauskas: “They traded (Linus) Ullmark. He’s in Ottawa. Now, I understand Joonas Korpisalo came back the other way, but Swayman is their de facto number one guy here.
So my question is, like, I understand the Bruins can’t hand over a blank check, but how did they expect this to go?
Friedman: “Yeah, you know, I’ve had some people who asked me about that too, is why would they have made the Ullmark deal without signing Swayman?
I think, my theory on that is, and again, it’s my theory, is that you’ll remember the Ullmark trade was right before July 1st, and …
Bukaukas: “Right before the Stanley Cup final.
Yes, that was a wild couple of minutes, pucks dropping, what, UIlmarks getting traded to Ottawa.
You know, Ullmark could have switched the teams on his list, and at that point in time, they could trade Ottawa. they could trade Ullmark to Ottawa without asking him. And if you go to July 1st, what happens if Ullmark switches his list? So my guess is that had everything to do with why that happened at that time.
Yeah, I think a lot of things here, you know, I had a general manager tell me, watching this whole situation, that this is another reminder, like, every few years you get a reminder of why you cannot take an important player to arbitration. And he said, everyone is looking at this, and the way Swayman has learned from it, has commented about it, has discussed it. And it’s a reminder of why you can, arbitration can be such a dangerous thing. Dangerous, dangerous, dangerous.
Because I think the executives go in there and they understand it’s a business. They’re, they’re, they’re used to negotiating. They do it all the time. They’re usually a little bit older. The players generally tend to be younger. They haven’t seen this as much before.
And you know, one of the great stories I remember is Tim Taylor, who was the Stanley Cup champion with the Red Wings and the Lightning. I remember when he retired and became an executive. I can’t remember if it was the Blues or the Flames or who it was, I don’t even want to look at it. Somebody can tell me what, who it was.
But he talked about how being in the box during a game with the other management for the first time, and he heard about the way they talked about the players. And he said, like, I am almost 40, and I can’t believe what this sounds like.
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So, I think this has been a real eye opener for some managers and teams around the league, that this is why you don’t get too many arbitration cases anymore. Because especially a young player, can take it very personally and it can, not everyone can just say that’s business and throw it away. Sometimes it really can shape your feelings and your negotiations in the future.
Bukauskas: “Okay, it was St Louis, by the way, Elliotte, that’s where Tim Taylor began his front office career once his playing days were done.
