Neely suggests Bruins made this contract offer to Jeremy Swayman originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Jeremy Swayman is, at the time of writing, the only unsigned restricted free agent in the NHL with the regular season starting in a week.
The Boston Bruins and the 25-year-old goaltender have not been able to work out a contract so far. Swayman must sign by Dec. 1 to be eligible to play during the 2024-25 season, according to the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs, president Cam Neely, general manager Don Sweeney and head coach Jim Montgomery met with the media Monday for their annual season-opening press conference. All four spoke about Swayman’s situation, but Neely was the most candid of the group.
Sweeney was asked if he was surprised by Swayman’s contract question, and before he could fully answer the question, Neely interjected with, “I was too.”
Neely was asked why he was surprised and to provide any specifics about Swayman’s question if he could.
“I don’t want to get into what his question is, but I know I have 64 million reasons why I would play right now,” Neely said.
This comment implies that the Bruins offered Swayman a $64 million deal. Neely did not say how much term has been offered, but an eight-year contract with an $8 million salary cap would total $64 million. Again, the Bruins didn’t say they were offering him an 8×8 deal, but no other term makes sense with a $64 million offer to Swayman.
An 8×8 contract would give Swayman the sixth-highest cap hit among all goaltenders for the 2024-2025 season. There are currently only five goaltenders with a cap hit over $6.4 million for the 2024-2025 season.
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A $64 million deal would be a very fair offer from the Bruins. Swayman is a top 10 goaltender who is coming off a stellar performance in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. But he has also never been a No. 1 goaltender for an entire season. His career high for starts in a regular season is 43. He has started just 125 regular season games in four years.
He doesn’t have the accomplishments or resume comparable to the other top five paid goalies. An average annual salary of $8 million would be more than double what Swayman earned last season ($3.475 million).
The salary cap could also increase at a significant pace in the near future. An 8×8 deal looks good now, but what if the cap increases significantly over the course of the contract? All of these issues must be considered by both parties.
“I’m convinced Jeremy wants to play here. I asked him point-blank if you want to play here, and he does,” Neely said. ‘I believe they can get a deal done. It’s a shame that doesn’t happen today.’
