The Boston Bruins have finally come to terms on a new long-term contract with Jeremy Swayman. And they did it just before the regular season begins Tuesday against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
The 25-year-old goalie has signed an eight-year, $66 million contract with a salary cap hit of $8.25 million, the team announced Sunday. The deal includes a no-trade clause, per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. Swayman entered the offseason as a restricted free agent. Both sides elected not to file for arbitration before the July deadline.
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It wasn't the easiest negotiation, and that was evident this past week when Bruins president Cam Neely suggested the team had offered Swayman a $64 million deal, which drew a strong repsonse from the goalie's agent, Lewis Gross. But both sides were able to cool down and get something done.
Swayman will be one of just six goalies with a cap hit above $6.4 million for the 2024-25 season.
- Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens: $10.5 million
- Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers: $10 million
- Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning: $9.5 million
- Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets: $8.5 million
- Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders: $8.25 million
- Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins: $8.25 million
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This deal is a massive win for both sides.
The foundation of the great Bruins teams of the last 15 or so years has been strong goaltending. Tim Thomas, Tuukka Rask and Linus Ullmark all won the Vezina Trophy during that span. After trading Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators in July and now giving Swayman the largest goalie contract in team history, the Bruins have officially given the net to the former University of Maine star.
Swayman is coming off a very strong 2023-24 campaign.
He went 25-10-8 with a .916 save percentage and a 2.53 GAA in the regular season. Swayman performed even better in the playoffs. In fact, he was the top goalie in the entire postseason, finishing with a league-best .933 save percentage.
Swayman allowed two goals or fewer in nine of his 12 starts through two rounds and finished No. 1 among playoff goalies in goals saved above expected. He made 30 saves on 31 shots in a Game 7 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round.
Swayman, in a little more than three full NHL seasons, has posted a .919 save percentage and a 2.34 GAA in 132 career games played. He's been fantastic since making his debut during the 2020-21 campaign.
The Bruins have established a long-term core of Swayman (25 years old), David Pastrnak (28), Charlie McAvoy (26) and Elias Lindholm (29). All are around the same age and each player is signed for at least five more seasons. B's captain Brad Marchand (35) is still one of the league's best left wings, too.
With this core intact, expectations remain high for the Bruins entering the 2024-25 season. This team hasn't won multiple rounds in the playoffs since 2019.