Could Both the Boston Bruins and Jeremy Swayman Be Winners with This Contract?
TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston was on Toronto Radio on Monday and was asked, now that the saga between Jeremy Swayman and the Boston Bruins is over, who won the negotiation? Was it Swayman or the Bruins?
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
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Bryan Hayes: “With Chris Johnson or TSN Hockey Insider. So, the Jeremy Swayman contract gets signed before the new year starts. He doesn’t lose a penny, right? He gets his full no-move, no-trade, I believe, $23 million in signing bonus or whatever, but $8.25 per year. So he’s under Hellebuyck, and I’d say that’s a Bruins win.
Like it would, it appeared to me that the Bruins held their ground and, at the last second, gave him an extra 250 a year, or whatever it was, and they forced him to make a call. And he made a call, and he decided, I don’t really want to miss time.
How do you read that negotiation? Who won, who lost? And furthermore, how long do you think it will take him to get into game shape and actually start producing for the Bruins?”
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Chris Johnston: “Well, I was of the camp. I thought it was a bit of a Swayman win. Maybe not a decisive one. But you know, part of Cam Neely’s quote is the $64 million reasons to be in camp, and we ended up with $66 million reasons to sign before opening night.
And so the Bruins did have to stretch themselves, I think, a little beyond where they wanted to go. You know, it’s but the reality is, it’s stacked. The deck is stacked against you as a player. If you were to miss days of the season, like you’re just going to lose money that you can never get back, and in Swayman’s case, for this contract to be $43,000 a day, is what he would have been giving up with every day he missed, unsigned. And so, you know, maybe in the end, it was a matter of him just taking the offer that the Bruins got above that eight years, eight times eight, got to 66 million and decided it was time to give it up.
But you know, I think he did well for himself by taking them right to the 11th hour. And, you know, ultimately, getting the kind of deal I think he can live with is going to be good for his family. And also, look, it takes away any of this guy’s obviously playing with a chip on his shoulder. It’s been a huge part of his story. It kind of came up, from out of nowhere in Alaska and was a low-draft pick. Even his local college team didn’t give it a chance. And then the Bruins take him.
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He ends up in arbitration last summer. I mean, he’s got security like he’s never had before, and so, you know, it’s hard for me not to think that he ended up on the good end of this. And, you know, the question Noodles is probably there to answer. I have no idea what it’s going to take for him to get up to speed. I mean, he was skating with Boston University there and going through his reps. But basically, that’s nowhere near the same level of competition as a NHL training camp or preseason games or or things like that.”
Jamie McLennan: “I think it’ll take a couple of weeks like they, you know, Korpisalo can start some games and get them into the season. He’s got to get practicing with the team, with the goaltender coach, all of that. Just acclimate himself back with the group.”