The Boston Bruins still do not have a deal in place to bring back star goaltender Jeremy Swayman, but general manager Don Sweeney wants to set the record straight on how the team is handling negotiations.
Wednesday in a news conference with reporters, Sweeney addressed the rumor that he and the Boston front office were not returning Swayman's calls during the offseason.
"I think it's bulls--- that somebody says I wouldn't return a call for three weeks," Sweeney said, clearly heated. "That's inaccurate."
Sweeney was referring to speculation made by ex-player Ryan Whitney, co-host of Barstool's "Spittin' Chiclets" podcast — which Sweeney referred to contemptuously as the "Spittin up on yourself podcast" — in which he claimed a source told him the Boston GM was not returning Swayman's calls.
In Wednesday's news conference, Sweeney did not reference Whitney by name but instead his co-host Paul Bissonnette, who responded on X to deny starting the rumor.
Nevertheless, the situation between Boston and Swayman remains unclear but Sweeney says he's hopeful the deal will get done before the Dec. 1 deadline.
"It's our intention to continue negotiating a contract," he said at the same news conference. "I'm disappointed ... that I haven't been able to do that yet ... At the end of the day I'm optimistic because I think we'll find a landing spot before [Dec. 1]."
According to ESPN, the December deadline is for any contract to be valid for the 2024-25 season. If Swayman were to sign after that date, then he would not be eligible to play this year and would have to wait until next season to return to the ice.
Swayman went 25-10-8 last season for the Bruins, the most wins he's tallied in his four-year career.
Boston already traded its other goaltender, Linus Ullmark, to Ottawa in June for its goalie, Jonas Korpisalo, center Mark Kastelic and a 2024 first-round pick, which it used on center Dean Letourneau.
