Difficulties emerge as Bruins attempt to re-sign star goaltender Jeremy Swayman

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Graham Montgomery
July 31, 2024 (8:47 PM)

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Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman speaking with the media after a game

Photo credit: NHL

The Boston Bruins are facing a dilemma as the offseason is coming to an end while Jeremy Swayman is still unsigned.

The team is very committed to Swayman as currently, the only other goaltender they have under contract is Jonas Korpisalo. The Bruins elected to trade Linus Ullmark to the Senators earlier in the summer as a way of moving on to Swayman as their full-time starter.

TRADE ALERT: The #Sens have acquired G Linus Ullmark from @NHLBruins
in exchange for (Boston's original) '24 first-round draft pick (no. 25 overall), C Mark Kastelic and G Joonas Korpisalo. As part of the transaction, the #Sens will retain 25% of Korpisalo's remaining salary.

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However, the Bruins still have not locked down Swayman for next season. The team currently has 8.6 million dollars in cap room, which is right around what Swayman is expected to earn. However, some around the league expect Swayman to earn even more than 9 million dollars on his next deal.

Kevin Paul DuPont of the Boston Globe suggests that while the Boston Bruins have $8.6 million in cap space, they still may have to make a trade to free up a bit more room in order to sign goaltender Jeremy Swayman.

His next contract, depending on term, is expected to come in north of $9M AAV.

That could potentially make Swayman the highest paid goaltender in the NHL, despite having just 132 career games played. Currently, Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy is the highest paid goalie in the league, with a 9.5 million dollar cap hit. According to evolving hockey, Swayman is projected to get a much smaller deal based on his experience and performance so far.

NHL.com's Dan Rosen suggested Swayman could command over $9 million per season, which might drop slightly if he wants a maximum eight-year deal. Earlier in July, evolving-hockey.com had a 33-percent probability of a four-year contract worth about $6.25 million annually.

Granted, 6.25 million does feel like a major steal for a goalie of Swayman's caliber. At the same time however, anything north of 9 million feels like a major risk for the team. They would effectively be saying that Swayman is the best goalie in the league with a deal like that. Is that really the case though? He has had great numbers, but his career high in games played in only 44. What could happen to his numbers if he plays say 60 games? Will his next contract look good then? Stay tuned to find out.

Source: HockeyFeedMajor hurdle reported in Bruins signing Jeremy Swayman

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POLL
31 JUILLET \| 96 ANSWERS Difficulties emerge as Bruins attempt to re-sign star goaltender Jeremy Swayman What do you think the cap hit will be on Jeremy Swayman's next contract?
<8 million	24	25 %
8-8.5 million	28	29.2 %
8.5-9.5 million	24	25 %
9.5 million or more	20	20.8 %
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