Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm have recently arrived in town. While the team may have lost Linus Ullmark to the Senators, they remain highly competitive, still boasting one of the league’s top goalies, Jeremy Swayman.
However, Swayman’s situation is troubling as he remains a restricted free agent, and contract talks are reportedly not going well. According to *Hockey Feed*, negotiations have deteriorated to the point where the Bruins have allegedly cut off communication with him. Ryan Whitney from *Spittin’ Chiclets* mentioned that Boston hasn’t contacted Swayman in three weeks, describing the situation as dire.
The two parties are far from reaching an agreement. Whitney, a trusted source, revealed that Boston offered Swayman a 4-year deal worth $6.2 million annually. This is significantly lower than the $9.5 million per year for eight years that Swayman’s camp is asking for, which is the same contract as the team’s star defenseman, Charlie McAvoy.
A few years ago, radio host Rich Keefe reported that Swayman was seeking $10 million per year. This is a substantial amount, considering that only Sergei Bobrovsky earns $10 million or more among active NHL goalies. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Connor Hellebuyck make $9.5 million and $8.5 million, respectively, while Carey Price ($10.5 million) is now retired.
The big question remains: will Boston and Swayman come to terms before the season starts?