Jeremy Swayman finally put pen to paper on an eight-year, $66 million contract extension Sunday morning.
It was the end result of a contentious contractual rock fight for all parties involved.
Be it the sour sentiment brought upon by an arbitration hearing last summer, a desire to reset the goalie market, a rising cap ceiling, the trade of Linus Ullmark, or several other factors, little progress was made on a new deal over the summer.
Things finally hit a boiling point last week with the start of regular-season play just a little over a week away.
Hours after Cam Neely suggested the Bruins put a $64 million offer on the table, Swayman’s agent — Lewis Gross — issued a sharp response on social media, declaring that $64 million was not originally presented before Boston’s season-opening press conference.
Amid reports of Swayman pondering a trade request, cooler heads ultimately prevailed before the 25-year-old netminder crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s on his hefty new contract.
Neely drew plenty of headlines with his candid comments last week, but Bruins general manager Don Sweeney opted to keep his cards close to his vest when asked if last week’s events shifted the tenor of contract talks.
“There’s twist turns and such. You hope for a straight and narrow path, but it just doesn’t always work out that way,” Sweeney said Sunday at Warrior Ice Arnea. “You have to be respectful and listen, I think that’s part of this whole exercise of going through negotiations. You have to learn to listen to what’s important.
“For me, that’s just an indication that both sides would like to find a deal. I don’t know if it necessarily moved things because we have deadlines anyway, from the standpoint of we want Jeremy in our lineup and then he wants to play hockey for the Boston Bruins and ultimately that’s the result.”
Swayman, much like Sweeney, offered to keep things vague when asked to reflect on all that had transpired over the last few months.
“The fact that we went through this process … it’s gone now,” Swayman said. “All I care about is being a Bruin. The fact that I can do that for eight years and instill myself as a leader and as a true member of this city is all I care about.”
Swayman was also asked about Gross’ statement from last week and just how accurate (or inaccurate) Neely’s comments were from earlier that day. The Bruins netminder focused most of his response on his agent and his efforts toward landing him one of the most lucrative deals for a goalie in NHL history.
With his $8.25 million annual payout, Swayman is now the fourth-highest-paid active goalie in the NHL, tied with the New York Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin.
“Lewis was incredible in this entire process,” Swayman said. “It just goes to show what he would do to really protect me as his client and sticking his neck out and making sure everyone knew that some accusations are true and some are false. It’s not my job necessarily — right here, right now — to give you that answer.
“Obviously, our party and our team know the truth. At the same time, we found an agreement and the fact that I could be here for eight years gives me goosebumps. It’s an incredible feeling. That’s all I care about — moving forward and winning for this organization.”
Considering the discrepancy between Neely’s “64 million” comments and the final $66 million payout that Swayman secured Sunday, the writing is on the wall that Boston was the party making the final concessions necessary to bring their goalie back into the fold.
But once again, Swayman did not want to get into the semantics and developments that ultimately brought him and Gross back to the bargaining table.
“I’m happy with everything,” Swayman acknowledged. “Again, I couldn’t be more excited to be in this position. So you can dissect it all you want and think about it. But again, what’s that going to do? We’re here right now. I got a plane to catch in an hour, and that’s all I care about, man.
“I couldn’t be more happy. And it’s funny when you look at the big picture of things, and 15 years ago, I would never believe that this would be a reality in my world. So a kid from Alaska standing right here in front of you is really happy and beyond pleased to be a Bruin for eight more years.”
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