October 1, 2024 | 9:45am ET
By Shawn Hutcheon, TheFourthPeriod.com

NEELY, LEWIS DROP THE GLOVES AS SWAYMAN NEGOTIATIONS GET HEATED

Jeremy Swayman, goaltender

BOSTON, MA — If you had the opportunity to watch Cam Neely during his playing days, you saw a player who embodied the prototypical definition of a “power forward.” He would do whatever it took to win. He was an elite goal-scorer and one of the NHL’s most feared body-checkers and fighters. Opponents played against him with two things in mind, keep Neely off the score sheet, and above all else, don’t piss him off.

Monday, Bruins management held their preseason press conference and as expected, the main topic was the prolonged contract negotiations between the organization and restricted free agent goaltender Jeremy Swayman. During the presser, Neely, entering his 14th season as the team’s president, appeared to be a bit pissed off.

Without going into detail, Neely said he was surprised at the contract Swayman and his representative, Lewis Gross, had requested.

Moments later, Neely was asked what Swayman’s contract request was and that is when the Hall of Famer appeared to be a bit agitated.

“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 said.

“Being a former player, I’m not a big fan of low ball, high ball,” Neely stated. “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, (General Manager) Don’s (Sweeney) past has shown that he can get deals done. This is one that’s just been a little trickier. That’s all. 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.”

This was the first time numbers had been mentioned publicly by either side.

Neely, it can be inferred, was talking about an $8 million per year for an eight-year contract offer to Swayman. If – and that is a big if – that is the latest offer, then by all accounts, Boston has increased the dollar amount and term of the deal from its initial offer which is believed to have been in the $6.5 million range for six years.

Now, you may be thinking that is an offer Swayman should not refuse, right? What is he waiting for?

Well, according to a statement Gross released later in the day, $64 million had not come up at any point during the discussions.

“Normally, I do not release statements or discuss negotiations through the media,” Gross wrote. “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.”

It appears the gloves are off.

Swayman was cut deeply in the summer of 2023 when he and the Bruins could not agree on a contract and proceeded to go the arbitration route where the sides agreed upon a one-year contract at $3.475 million. According to Swayman, the hearing was a contentious one. Now to be fair, it is common for arbitration hearings to take that tone.

After his deal expired this year, Swayman chose not to go through the arbitration process again opting to negotiate a new agreement. Until Monday, the numbers and term had not been disclosed by either side, but it is believed that Swayman has asked for an eight-year deal with an annual average value between $9 million and $10 million. Again, that has not been confirmed by Swayman nor Gross.

If Boston is prepared to go as high as $64 million ($8 million per year) over eight years, maybe an agreement can be reached between the two sides and reached sooner rather than later, but if we are to take Gross at his word that he and Swayman need to figure out where they go from here, it may be some time before we see Swayman on the ice in a Bruins uniform or that of another team should they ask for a trade which could be another topic for another day.

Regardless of when/if Swayman signs a new deal, head coach Jim Montgomery used the press conference to announce that Joonas Korpisalo will be in the Boston crease when his club opens the season at Florida on October 8. Korpisalo was acquired from the Ottawa Senators in the trade that sent goaltender Linus Ullmark from Boston to Ottawa.

Neely and Gross may be preparing to slug it out, figuratively speaking, but Sweeney intends to make the peace between all concerned.

“You know, ultimately, we’re a better team, as I’ve said all along if Jeremy is part of our hockey club, that’s my intention, that’s my wish and I’ll continue to work to do that,” Sweeney said. “You know, I think Jeremy and the team are both hurt in this regard and that’s what I'll do. I’ll just try and work hard to find a settlement point.”

Throughout the entire process, Sweeney has had his work cut out for himself. With the latest exchange between Neely and Gross through the media, the GM’s job may be harder now.

Sweeney has a little over eight (there’s that number again) weeks to reach an agreement with Gross and Swayman. Per League rules, Swayman must be signed by December 1. If that deadline passes and the puck-stopper has not put pen to paper, then he will not see NHL action this season.