Bruins go public with Jeremy Swayman offer in latest press conference
99.999 percent of the time, the Boston Bruins choose to keep things internal.
The Bruins have held firm on that throughout their most dramatic stalemate in years, too, as Bruins general manager Don Sweeney has again and again decided to keep the gory details of his talks with the still-unsigned Jeremy Swayman between the sides and out of the headlines. But Bruins president Cam Neely is not Sweeney, and Monday’s media day at TD Garden turned out to be the .001 percent.
With everybody from Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs to B’s head coach Jim Montgomery doing their best to dance around the subject, the press conference eventually hit the point where Neely was asked outright if he was willing to share any sort of figure (years or dollars) from the talks with the assembled press (and the fans). Neely, without putting it in true dollars and cents, did exactly that in a clever way.
“Well, I don’t want to get into the weeds with what his ask is, but I know that I have 64 million reasons why I’d be playing right now,” Neely acknowledged.
Or, in other words, the Bruins have offered Swayman a contract worth $64 million.
Given that the max term the Bruins can offer is eight years, an educated guess here is that the Bruins have finally offered the long-rumored $8 million per year for eight years contract. The Bruins also could’ve offered that number of seven years (a $9.14 million cap hit), but that figure also eclipses the B’s current cap space available, so the ‘8×8’ is the real focus and proposed landing spot here.
That, apparently, has not been enough to get the 25-year-old Swayman to sign on the dotted line, and has left Neely a bit perplexed as to what exactly the Swayman camp views as their ideal landing spot.
“I do,” Neely admitted when asked if he believes that Swayman is trying to ‘reset the goalie market’ with his contract. “Just what his ask is, and what we believe his comp group is, are two different things.”
If the Bruins signed Swayman to a contract worth $8 million per year, that would make him the fifth-highest paid active goaltender in hockey, slotted just behind the Isles’ Ilya Sorokin and his $8.25 million cap hit but significantly ahead of Anaheim’s John Gibson and his $6.4 million cap hit. And that’s likely where Swayman slots in among the current group of NHL goaltenders when you consider his impressive-to-date resume that’s only ‘slighted’ by what’s a limited sample size of just 125 career starts.
Neely also became just the latest member of the B’s front office to also provide some pushback on the idea that they have low-balled Swayman throughout this arduous negotiation process.
“Don’s done a really good job of initial offers to players,” Neely said. “One of the things we talked about when he when he got the job was being a former player, I’m not a big fan of low ball, high ball. Figure it out somewhere in the middle, it’s like, okay, get the right comp, get the right comp group, put the right offer on the table. And I think, you know, Don’s past has shown that he can get deals done.”
And while this is officially the longest training camp stalemate of the Sweeney regime, and though the Bruins have already ruled out the possibility of Swayman being their Opening Night starter, the B’s remain in contact with Swayman and believe a deal in Boston will still come when the dust settles.
“This is one that’s just been a little trickier, that’s all,” Neely said of the Swayman talks. “I strongly believe that Jeremy wants to play here. I’ve asked him flat out, do you want to play here? And he does. I believe that they’ll get a deal done. It’s unfortunate it’s not done today.”
Bruins slice camp roster in half with massive round of cuts
Sep 24, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins right wing Fabian Lysell (23) blocks a pass during the third period against the New York Rangers at TD Garden. (Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports)
Up front, the Bruins decided to send 2021 first-round pick Fabian Lysell down to Providence.
The talk of the offseason, especially when it came to a vacant ‘RW2’ spot that was intentionally left unaddressed by the club, Lysell started slow this preseason, but appeared to pick things up with a goal and a penalty drawn in his second outing. Lysell also got the call in Saturday’s overtime loss in Philadelphia, and appeared to show some definite progress when it came to his on-ice vision and adapting to pro tendencies.
But it was not enough for Lysell to warrant a longer look this preseason, even with another three games left on the warm-up slate, with Lysell sent to the AHL once again.
In three games this preseason, the 21-year-old Lysell recorded one goal and four shots on goal. Lysell was also tied for the third-most individual scoring chances for (all strengths, with five, according to NaturalStatTrick.
One definite complaint you can have about Lysell this preseason is that the Black and Gold didn’t really seem to get him involved with NHL-level talent beyond the opening days, with Lysell’s final preseason appearance coming on what was a third-line look with Johnny Beecher and Patrick Brown.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JANUARY 04: Georgii Merkulov #42 of the Boston Bruins takes a shot against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at TD Garden on January 04, 2024. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Along with Lysell, the Bruins also sent Georgii Merkulov, another player who was considered a potential favorite (among young players anyway) to make the NHL jump, back down to the AHL.
Merkulov’s demotion comes with the Russian-born forward tied for the team lead with two points (both assists) through three games this preseason. For Merkulov, who was at one point in camp lauded by Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery for his practice habits and efforts, the best play of the preseason came on a slick backhand dish to Justin Brazeau for a goal in last Tuesday’s preseason win over the Capitals at TD Garden.
In addition to the points, Merkulov was credited with three hits, a blocked shot, and won 14 of 30 faceoffs throughout his three-game preseason run with the club.
Sep 26, 2023; Buffalo, New York, USA; Boston Bruins center Trevor Kuntar (52) deflects a shot on Buffalo Sabres goaltender Devon Levi (27) during the first period at KeyBank Center. (Timothy T. Ludwig/USA TODAY Sports)
Elsewhere up front, the Bruins also reassigned forwards Joey Abate, Riley Duran, Brett Harrison, Trevor Kuntar, Adam Mechura, and Jaxon Nelson to AHL Providence. Both Harrison (Thursday in NY) and Kuntar (last Sunday against the Rangers) found the back of the net during their preseason runs with the Bruins.
One notable when it came to this round of cuts is that Tyler Johnson, who is with the Bruins on a pro tryout, remains with the NHL club here beyond the halfway point of the preseason slate.
Sep 24, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Michael Callahan (79) checks a shot by New York Rangers center Jake Leschyshyn (15) during the second period at TD Garden. (Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports)
On the point, the Bruins went with some definite expected cuts, with Drew Bavaro, Frederic Brunet, Michael Callahan, Jackson Edward, Ryan Mast, and Mason Millman all assigned to Providence for the opening of P-Bruins camp. Nobody in this group was expected to compete for NHL minutes with the Bruins out of the gate.
In fact, this appears to be a case of the Black and Gold going with the path of least resistance when it comes to their first cuts from the backend, with every waiver-eligible defender who’s ultimately bound for the AHL by the time the season starts remaining with the club at this point in camp.
The B’s backend probably has the least room for movement out of every position group on this roster, with Parker Wotherspoon expected to be Boston’s seventh defenseman after a strong finish to his 2023-24.
UNIONDALE, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 13: Kasimir Kaskisuo #50 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates in warm-ups prior to the game against the New York Islanders at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum on November 13, 2019. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
In goal, the Bruins assigned Ryan Bischel and Nolan Maier to Providence, while veteran Kasimir Kaskisuo was released from his pro tryout with the club but also assigned to the P-Bruins.
All three goaltenders failed to draw into action for the club prior to their respective cuts.
