Elliotte Friedman believes Jeremy Swayman is considering a trade out of Boston
Photo credit: Jess Starr / The Hockey Writers
The insider Elliotte Friedman believes Jeremy Swayman is considering a trade out of Boston amid rocky contract negotiations.
With their season opener set to go down in a week, the Bruins top priority remains to reach a deal with their free agent goalie Jeremy Swayman. By trading Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators early in the summer, the organization showed that they wanted to go with Swayman long-term. Unfortunately, negotiations haven't been smooth so far.
After lots of reports confirming that Swayman and the Bruins were far from reaching a deal, the Bruins' President Cam Neely made a massive declaration yesterday in a press conference, saying that Swayman had "64 million good reasons" to play. This suggests that the Bruins offered Swayman a 64-million deal (likely an eight-year, $8 million AAV contract).�
However, Lewis Gross, Swayman's agent, came out publicly and said that it was the first time that Swayman's camp heard the number 64 million.
Here's what he said:
"Normally, I do not release statements or discuss negotiations through the media. However, in this case, I feel I need to defend my client. At today's press conference, $64 million was referenced. This was the first time that number was discussed in our negotiations. Prior to the press conference, no offer was made reaching that level.
We are extremely disappointed. This was not fair to Jeremy. We will take a few days to discuss where we go from here."
We are extremely disappointed. This was not fair to Jeremy. We will take a few days to discuss where we go from here."
This led to a lot of rumors about Swayman's future in Boston. Elliotte Friedman shared his take, saying that Swayman could be considering a trade request out of Boston:
"The moment Neely said, «I have 64 million reasons why I'd be playing right now,» speculation ran rampant that Swayman would formally ask for a trade. The statement reveals one obvious truth-hhe is considering it. "
The Bruins are planning to be a competitive team next season, and without Swayman, it could be a lot harder to achieve their goals. But contract negotiations can be tough for the relationship between players and management. It'll be interesting to see what Swayman decides to do going forward.
