Bruins Re-Sign Jeremy Swayman
The Boston Bruins have signed star goaltender Jeremy Swayman to an eight-year, $66MM contract extension, finally ending the stalemate between the Bruins and the league’s final unsigned restricted free agent. The signing was first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and seconded by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. LeBrun adds that the deal contains over $20MM in signing bonuses – likely one of the pieces that held up negotiations. Friedman confirmed that number as $23MM and adds that Swayman’s deal contains a no-trade clause.
Talks between the two sides became a bit theatrical at their peak, with Swayman vocal about wanting to sign a perceived fair deal while the Bruins’ brass lambasted his decision to holdout. Swayman missed the entirety of Boston’s training camp, ironically signing his long-term deal just hours after their final preseason game.
That delay could create a bit of a challenge, as Swayman is undoubtedly set to be Boston’s workhorse this season. The Bruins traded away former Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark this season, finally clearing the congestion after three years of platooning the two goalies. Ullmark was sent to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, forward prospect Mark Kastelic, and a 2024 first-round pick used to select centerman Dean Letourneau.
Ullmark’s trade freed up well over 40 starts, which should now trickle largely down to Swayman. The latter earned the lion’s share of appearances for the first time in his career last season, posting 25 wins and a .916 save percentages in 44 games – narrowly beating out Ullmark’s 22 wins and .915 in 40 games. It was Swayman’s third-straight season posting a save percentage north of .910, including the career-high .920 he set in 37 games of the 2022-23 season. That hot performance coupled with a Vezina-winning season from Ullmark (.938 in 49 games) to ultimately earn the Bruins pairing the William M Jennings Trophy for highest save percentage as a starting tandem.
Swayman, 25, is still young into his career. But he’s shown acumen on par with the best in the league. Through 132 career games across four seasons, Swayman has managed a dazzling 79 wins and .919 save percentage. He ranks fourth among all NHL goalies in save percentage since making his debut in 2020 – a list that is, coincidentally, led by Ullmark. That may suggest that Swayman’s setting behind a stout Bruins lineup is certainly ideal, though his success between the pipes extends far beyond Massachusetts. Swayman joined the Bruins immediately following the conclusion of his junior year at the University of Maine, where he made a strong case as the best goalie across a league that also featured Jake Oettinger and Spencer Knight. Swayman rivaled a save percentage of .920 in all three years, maxing out with 18 wins and an incredible .939 save percentage in 34 games in his final year.
The trio of strong years at the University of Maine vindicated Boston’s 2017 fourth-round selection of Swayman in a big way. He was drafted after – go figure – a strong year in the USHL, though his .914 save percentage would be overshadowed by a losing 7-18-3 record. It was a rare down year for the Sioux City Musketeers, coming off a year as the Clark Cup runner-ups. But Swayman persevered, ultimately landing at pick 111 in the draft – just one pick after the Toronto Maple Leafs selected goaltender Ian Scott.
Now, seven years later, Swayman is the unrivaled starter in Boston. He’ll prepare for north of 60 games this season – assuming his delayed start to the year doesn’t hold him up – while Boston turns their attention towards the much tougher question of who should back him up. Korpisalo is certainly the de facto choice, largely thanks to the $3MM cap hit he carries through the next four seasons. Korpisalo only received two preseason appearances, allowing three goals on 47 shots – good for a .936 save percentage. That’s certainly stout, but he’ll face plenty of pressure from reigning AHL starter Brandon Bussi, who saved 81 of the 90 (.900) shots he faced through four preseason appearances. Bussi posted a .913 in 41 AHL games last year – his first time dipping below .920 since turning pro in 2021. At the very least, his continued performances in preseason will earn him the edge over Michael DiPietro for the starting role in Providence.
Boston’s goaltending strength once again runs through the depths of the roster, with their franchise goaltender now locked up for the foreseeable future. The Bruins will carry a projected $386.67K of cap space into the new season – likely enough to require one more money-clearing move. They’ll look to rejoin the race for best in the East. Next summer will prove much less stressful, with team captain Brad Marchand the only high-money name in need of a new deal.
Bruins Recall Eight Players
The Bruins have recalled eight players ahead of tonight’s preseason finale against the Capitals, the team announced. Forwards Riley Duran, Brett Harrison, Georgii Merkulov and Jaxon Nelson; defensemen Michael Callahan and Jackson Edward; and goaltenders Ryan Bischel and Kasimir Kaskisuo are now on the roster and will be available for Saturday’s game after previously being cut from the camp roster.
It’s final auditions for in-season recalls for most players on this list. Perhaps it’s most true for Duran, who seemed to grab some attention in his first NHL training camp. The Boston 2020 sixth-round pick turned pro following his junior year at Providence College. The 22-year-old’s point production has never jumped off the charts, but he does have some upside as a fourth-line energy piece. The 6’1″, 174-lb forward can play both center and wing and closed out his 2023-24 season with four points in 11 games for AHL Providence. He’ll head back to the P-Bruins after tonight’s game, but another strong showing could vault him up to being one of the top recall options if injuries affect Boston’s bottom-six forward group.
Harrison, 21, is looking to get back on track in Year 2 of his pro career. The 2021 third-rounder lost most of his draft year to the COVID-19 pandemic but responded well the following two years, averaging around a point per game with OHL Oshawa and Windsor. He was limited to 47 appearances with Providence last year, though, totaling five goals and nine assists for 14 points.
Merkulov will start the season back in the minors, but the soon-to-be 24-year-old continues to push for a longer look at the NHL level. The well-rounded offensive pivot has been consistently trending in the right direction after being an under-the-radar undrafted free agent signing in 2022. He set career highs across the board with Providence last season, leading them in scoring with 30 goals and 35 assists for 65 points in 67 games. He logged his first four NHL appearances, too, posting a +1 rating and three shots on goal while averaging 10:35 per game.
Nelson, 24, is entering his first pro season after spending the last five years at the University of Minnesota. The hefty 6’4″ center had 31 points in 39 games with the Golden Gophers last year while serving as team captain before signing with the Bruins and closing out the year with a goal in seven games for Providence.
Callahan, 25, was a fifth-round pick of the Coyotes back in 2018, but Boston acquired his signing rights via trade in 2022. He’s now an alternate captain with Providence, and he’s entering his third full pro season. The former Providence College captain checks out as a well-rounded stay-at-home defender at the AHL level and was given some of the toughest minutes on the P-Bruins last year, posting 17 points and a -14 rating in 70 games.
Among the two defenders, Edward carries a bit more NHL upside. The 20-year-old has far more room to grow after being selected 200th overall in the 2022 draft. He played a key role on the OHL champion London Knights last season, recording 30 points and a +43 rating in 59 games – a major offensive breakout for the physical shutdown defender. He’ll make his pro debut with the P-Bruins this month.
The two goalies, Bischel and Kaskisuo, aren’t signed to NHL contracts. Bischel, 25, signed an AHL deal with Providence this offseason after posting a .924 SV% in five seasons with Notre Dame. Kaskisuo, meanwhile, is in both NHL and AHL camp with the Bruins on a PTO. The 31-year-old Finn spent last season with the AHL’s Laval Rocket, posting a .909 SV% in 13 games for the Canadiens affiliate.
Waiver Wire: 10/4/24
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman all 17 players on waivers yesterday have cleared. There are again several players to hit the wire today as reported by Friedman:
Anaheim Ducks
Boston Bruins
G Michael DiPietro
F Vinni Lettieri
D Jordan Oesterle
Florida Panthers
Los Angeles Kings
New Jersey Devils
F Justin Dowling
F Mike Hardman
F Samuel Laberge
F Nathan Légaré
F Maxwell Willman
Philadelphia Flyers
F Olle Lycksell
F Anthony Richard
Pittsburgh Penguins
F Emil Bemström
D Nate Clurman
F Jonathan Gruden
F Joona Koppanen
D Filip Král
D John Ludvig
F Samuel Poulin
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs
Washington Capitals
Bruins Recall Fabian Lysell
The Bruins have recalled right-winger Fabian Lysell from AHL Providence, the team announced. It’s not an indication that their top forward prospect will make the opening night roster, rather, it allows them to give him another viewing in exhibition action, likely this weekend’s preseason finale against the Capitals, although he could also suit up tonight in Quebec City against the Kings.
Boston cut Lysell from its training camp roster last weekend, so unless an injury gives him an opening to land a job, he’ll be returned to Providence before rosters are due on Oct. 7. Lysell, 21, has yet to make his NHL debut since the B’s drafted him 21st overall in 2021. He’s impressed in AHL action, though, scoring 29 goals and 58 assists for 87 points in 110 appearances with the P-Bruins over the last two seasons.
While he took a step forward last year with 50 points in 56 games and had a goal in three preseason contests for Boston last month, it wasn’t enough to convince the Bruins he’s ready for NHL minutes. There was an opportunity for him to capture a middle-six wing role, potentially on the second line alongside Charlie Coyle and Brad Marchand, but all indications point toward Morgan Geekie filling that role with PTO camp invite Tyler Johnson trending toward landing a contract.
Lysell should still be near the top of Boston’s list for in-season recalls, so he shouldn’t have to go much longer before making his NHL debut. He’s still got two seasons left or 160 NHL appearances, whichever comes first, before he requires waivers to head to the minors.
Bruins Claim Jiří Patera From Canucks
The Bruins have claimed goaltender Jiří Patera off waivers from the Canucks, PuckPedia reports.
Patera is the only player out of 28 who were waived yesterday to be claimed. The 25-year-old reached Group VI UFA status this summer with only eight career NHL appearances under his belt with the Golden Knights.
Patera signed a two-year, two-way deal in Vancouver to initially serve as their No. 3 option behind Thatcher Demko and Arturs Silovs, but he’d slipped to fourth on the depth chart after they signed Kevin Lankinen late in the summer. He was still projected to start the season as their third-stringer, with Demko set to start the year on the shelf with a continuing knee injury, but became more expandable with the veteran Lankinen in the fold.
It’s still a blow to Vancouver’s thinning goalie depth and a boon for the Bruins, who add some insurance between the pipes with RFA Jeremy Swayman still likely to be unsigned by the time their season opener rolls around next week. It’s now a two-man competition between Patera and 26-year-old Brandon Bussi, who also requires waivers, to start the year as Joonas Korpisalo‘s backup. They’ll now choose which name to expose to the wire before opening night.
Given their similar ages, Bussi is probably the higher-ceiling option for the B’s. He has a strong .918 SV% in 78 AHL games with Providence over the past three years, although he’s yet to make his NHL debut. Patera has worse but still solid career AHL numbers with a .907 SV% through 85 appearances, and his brief NHL action with Vegas was fine – a .902 mark with a 3.57 GAA through seven starts and one relief appearance over the past two years.
Suppose Boston keeps Bussi as the backup to open the season and places Patera on waivers again to try and pass him to Providence. In that case, the Canucks can re-claim him and send him directly to their AHL affiliate in Abbotsford if they’re the only team to submit a claim.
If the Bruins decide/manage to retain Patera, it’s a solid move to acquire some experienced goalie depth for not just this season but the next one, too. Vancouver likely hoped the second year of the two-way pact would dissuade teams from making a claim, but it didn’t work out that way.
Brad Marchand, Elias Lindholm Return For Boston
- According to the team, the Boston Bruins are improving on the injury front as forwards Brad Marchand and Elias Lindholm will return to the lineup tonight against the Flyers. Marchand had been recovering from several surgeries in the offseason and is making good on his promise that he would be ready for the regular season opener. Lindholm has spent the last few days practicing in a non-contact jersey for the Bruins with an undisclosed injury but it appears his ailment is now behind him.
- Similarly to the Bruins, the Ottawa Senators are also receiving positive news on the injury front with defenseman Artem Zub returning to the lineup this evening (X Link). Zub’s been dealing with a lower-body injury for much of the preseason but it appears he will be ready for the regular season barring any setbacks. The Russian defenseman will now have three games to get back to game speed as he’s failed to appear in a contest up to this point.
- Moving back to Boston — Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe reports forward Max Jones is getting closer to returning to the lineup. Jones is another Bruins forward that has failed to appear in a preseason contest but he should be ready for the regular season. Boston signed Jones this summer after being non-tendered by the Anaheim Ducks to serve in the team’s bottom-six. He’s coming off one of his better offensive seasons with the Ducks scoring five goals and 15 points in 52 games last year.
[SOURCE LINK]
Latest On Jeremy Swayman
After Bruins president Cam Neely said Monday that they’d offered an eight-year, $64MM deal to RFA goaltender Jeremy Swayman that he didn’t accept, Swayman’s agent, SPM Sports’ Lewis Gross, said they’d never received that offer.
According to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, Swayman’s camp is telling the truth. The $64MM figure referenced by Neely was a slight exaggeration – the highest total value Boston has offered on an eight-year deal is $62.4MM, Seravalli reports. That’s a cap hit of $7.8MM compared to the $8MM implied by Neely.
Still, that figure more than bridges the halfway point in negotiations. Seravalli adds that since the two sides have zeroed in on a maximum-term contract, the Bruins have held strong at a $52MM total value with a $6.5MM AAV, while Swayman’s representation wants a $68MM deal with an $8.5MM AAV.
“[The Bruins] probably think, ‘Hey, we’ve moved a ton, now it’s your turn,’ and the fact that hasn’t happened apparently has them frustrated,” Seravalli said on Daily Faceoff’s Morning Cuppa Hockey show on Tuesday.
There’s no indication that a smaller gap of $700K per season will soon be bridged. Gross said in yesterday’s statement that Neely’s comment “was extremely unfair to Jeremy” and that they “will take a few days to discuss where we go from here.” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery also said that he fully anticipates Joonas Korpisalo being Boston’s opening night starter against the Panthers on Oct. 8.
Swayman has until Dec. 1 to sign a contract to be eligible to play this season. There’s no indication either side has turned their focus toward examining trade options regarding his signing rights, but the longer this goes without any movement, the possibility rises.
Swayman, 26 in November, finished seventh in Vezina Trophy voting last season after recording a 25-10-8 record with a .916 SV% and 2.53 GAA in 44 appearances.
Swayman's Agent: $64MM Hadn't Been Mentioned Before Today
Earlier today, Bruins president Cam Neely implied that the team had made a $64MM offer to restricted free agent goaltender Jeremy Swayman in an effort to get a deal done. It would appear that this is the first that Swayman’s camp has heard of it. SPM Sports released the following statement from Swayman’s agent Lewis Gross via various social media platforms:
Bruins Reportedly Begin Extension Talks With Marchand, Geekie, Frederic
The Boston Bruins are unsurprisingly being more aggressive with some extension candidates this summer with the ongoing contract negotiations between the organization and goaltender Jeremy Swayman likely dragging into the regular season. Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub reported earlier this morning that Boston had already opened extension negotiations with forwards Brad Marchand, Morgan Geekie, and Trent Frederic.
There has seemingly been no movement with Swayman throughout the summer on a long-term contract leading the Bruins’ general manager Don Sweeney and the rest of the front office to take a more pragmatic approach for next summer. There was no word in the original report if any of the three players would be interested in continuing negotiations throughout the 2024-25 regular season. Still, Boston appears to be getting a head start on their asking price.
Marchand’s next contract will be one of the more interesting situations to see play out as he has arguably been playing on one of the biggest bargain contracts in the league over the last seven years. The Bruins signed Marchand to an eight-year, $49MM extension in 2016 and he’s scored 209 goals and 555 points in 495 regular season games over the life of that deal. Boston’s captain will be heading into his age 37 season on his next contract and it remains to be seen if Marchand will look for more salary with his prime years behind him.
Bruins Have Offered Jeremy Swayman $64MM Contract
The Bruins have offered RFA netminder Jeremy Swayman a contract totaling $64MM in value, team president Cam Neely told reporters Monday (via 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Ty Anderson). He didn’t confirm the length of the agreement, but it’s fair to assume he was referring to an eight-year deal with an $8MM cap hit.
“I’d have 64 million reasons why I’d be playing right now,” Neely said in regard to Swayman’s continued absence. He added that Swayman had “flat out” told the club he wanted to remain in Boston, which aligns with a report from The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa earlier Monday.
For now, all signs point to Swayman remaining unsigned when the Bruins turn in their opening night roster next week. General manager Don Sweeney said it’s “unlikely” Swayman will be ready to go for their regular-season opener, with head coach Jim Montgomery confirming that Joonas Korpisalo is slated to be their starter against the Panthers on Oct. 8 after a strong camp showing (per The Boston Globe’s Conor Ryan).
Swayman, 27, has been vocal this summer about his desire to set a bar for future goalie contracts after being handed a one-year, $3.475MM contract in arbitration in the summer of 2023. He’s had impeccable career numbers – a .919 regular-season SV% and a .922 playoff SV% – but has never started more than 45 games in a season.
He and Linus Ullmark, who the Bruins traded to the Senators at the beginning of the summer to give Swayman the undisputed starter’s crease, have been the backbone of Boston’s success over the past couple of seasons. Their importance was especially evident last year, posting a combined .915 SV% to keep the Bruins afloat in the Atlantic Division despite owning subpar 5-on-5 possession metrics across the board.
If he remains unsigned for a significant chunk of the season, it puts Boston in a tricky spot with Korpisalo. While the team is projecting confidence after a strong preseason showing, the 30-year-old is coming off a disastrous 2023-24 campaign with Ottawa that saw him post a .890 SV% and 3.27 GAA in 50 appearances. The difference in play over the first two months of the year could be enough to cost the Bruins a playoff spot in a competitive Atlantic field. Swayman has until Dec. 1 to sign a contract to be eligible to play this season.