BOSTON — Neither the Bruins nor Jeremy Swayman blinked before camp started.
Boston General Manager Don Sweeney was adamant that both sides are talking but indicated that no resolution was imminent. The restricted free-agent goalie remains unsigned and out of camp as his Bruins teammates begin preparation for the 2024-25 season.
What happens next? That’s hard to say. Both sides have continued to express optimism that a deal would get done and the desire to do so. Public comments have remained cordial so far. But Wednesday’s start of camp marks the first key date that the impasse has gone past. It’s a soft, but noteworthy milestone. Missing the first few days of camp is unlikely to be impactful. It’s happened with previous restricted free agents for the Bruins and is happening around the NHL with several restricted free agents.
“It’s a process that seemingly every year there’s a few players, and this is a year that we have one,” Sweeney said. “But I have to continue to do my job. I have to respect the position that Jeremy and his camp has taken, and then continue to try and find common ground.”
There are more relevant milestones coming even if the dates are a little nonspecific:
WHAT ARE THE NEXT KEY DATES?
Middle to late training camp: Here’s where the staring contest really happens. At what point will each side get antsy? Are the Bruins comfortable starting the season with Joonas Korpisalo and Brandon Bussi as their goalies? Is Swayman comfortable having the season start without him?
For Swayman to be ready to start the season, there’s a date in camp – an unknown, unspoken date – that he’d need to report before in order for him to be prepared enough to start the regular season.
Oct. 8: The Bruins open at Florida on Oct. 8. If they head south to face Florida on the night that the Panthers are raising their Stanley Cup banner without Swayman, a lot of people, who hadn’t been paying attention to the standoff will start doing so.
Mid-November: How much does it mean to Swayman to represent the United States in the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off? It’s not the Olympics, but it’s a pretty big honor. The rosters for the four-team event will be announced in late November but will be chosen at some point before that.
USA Hockey is likely choosing three goalies from the list of Swayman, Connor Hellebucyk, Thatcher Demko and Jake Oettinger. If Swayman is idle for much of October and potentially into November, his case to make the team takes a drastic hit.
Dec. 1: If he doesn’t sign before December, Swayman will have to sit out the 2024-25 season. Nobody thinks that’s going to happen. But if it gets close to that point there could be considerable animosity built up. It’s noteworthy, too, that Sweeney mentioned this date in his remarks:
“I’m disappointed,” he said. “But at the end of the day, I’m optimistic, because I think we’ll find a landing spot before December 1.”
Sweeney is a smart guy. Mentioning the drop-dead date instead of the Oct. 8 start of the season could be sending a message to Swayman’s camp that he isn’t going to fold just because the season is starting.
WHAT COULD SPUR EACH SIDE FROM MOVING OFF ITS STANCE?
If Korpisalo and Bussi open the year looking overmatched and are costing the Bruins games, there will be outcry from the fan base and concerns about whether or not Boston is risking a playoff berth by not caving to Swayman. That could force Sweeney’s hand.
An injury to either one of them would force the Bruins to dig even deeper and perhaps go to Michael DiPietro, making a Swayman return seem even more urgent.
If Korpisalo looks rejuvenated by a fresh start and the wisdom of Bruins goaltending coach Bob Essensa and/or Bussi thrives in his first stint in the NHL, the Bruins could dig their heels in, pushing Swayman to a difficult decision.
With that in mind, expect the Bruins to praise Korpisalo and Bussi aggressively. Coach Jim Montgomery already expressed confidence in Essensa’s ability to rebuild Korpisalo and Bussi’s readiness to step in.
“You look at 22 years of Goalie Bob’s history here, and it’s pretty special. He does great work in getting our goaltenders ready, no matter who they are,” he said. ”I think what gives us confidence (in Bussi) is that he has the ability to make big-time saves. We’ve seen that in Providence, we saw that here in that first exhibition game and that incredible save he made…But also it’s his second and third effort. We talk about Bruins having that, and that’s something that he has in the crease.”
ARE THERE ANY OTHER FACTORS INFLUENCING THE NEGOTIATIONS?
It would be unrealistic to think both sides are approaching this dispassionately. Only they know what is pressing their buttons, but there are some obvious possibilities.
Swayman regularly brought up feeling stung by the arbitration process last year. He didn’t like what the Bruins said about him during the process. He seemed motivated by it on the ice and could be motivated by it again in this negotiation rematch.
During his press conference on Wednesday, Sweeney was clearly irritated at some of the rumors that have come out anonymously about the negotiations. He took particular umbrage with the Spittin’ Chicklets podcast saying that he hadn’t returned a call from Swayman’s camp in three weeks, but that wasn’t his only beef.
Only Sweeney knows if his aggravation is only pointed toward the media or if he thinks the misinformation is coming from inside Swayman’s camp.
Swayman’s agent is Lewis Gross, who also represented Torey Krug, when the defenseman signed with the Blues. The former Bruin left with some hard feelings about the way the Boston management handled negotiations. That’s led to speculation about possible friction between Sweeney and Gross. While not impossible, that happened four years ago and both the GM and the agent have been too successful for too long to let something so petty hurt their team or client.
WHAT MIGHT A COMPROMISE LOOK LIKE?
A shorter deal doesn’t give Swayman as much security and it means the Bruins would risk losing him as an unrestricted free agent sooner.
But it would give the team the chance to see how he holds up under a full No. 1 goalie workload and it would give Swayman a chance to cash in for a bigger number just a couple of years down the road.
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