The Boston Bruins are preparing for the 2024-25 NHL season, which begins later this week. However, their focus has been divided to some extent by the messy Jeremy Swayman contract situation. Some of the tension involved in negotiations became public during the preseason. But on Sunday, Swayman finally signed a new contract.
Swayman has signed an eight-year contract with the Bruins. The Bruins goalie immediately broke his silence on the matter in the wake of the deal. He mentioned his excitement for the new season. And he spoke about his motivation to win a Stanley Cup for the city of Boston.
Given the public nature of this situation, this is a somewhat unique contract to examine. In any event, there’s no time better than the present to do a deep dive. It’s time to hand out contract grades to Jeremy Swayman and the Bruins for their eight-year, $66 million contract extension.
Jeremy Swayman signs with Bruins
Bruins executive Cam Neely called out Jeremy Swayman in a press conference early in training camp. Specifically, he said that his goaltender had “64 million reasons” to show up to training camp. This number is in reference to a total contract amount floated in negotiations. Whether this number was actually offered prior to this deal is unknown.
However, it is quite a coup for Swayman to sign a contract worth more than Neely’s declared total. He held firm for this sort of contract and Boston eventually caved. It’s clear the team wanted Swayman in the fold for this upcoming season. It’s been evident since the Bruins traded Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators back in June.
There’s certainly merit to Swayman’s desire for a larger contract. He ranks seventh in the NHL among goalies in Goals Above Replacement and WAR since 2021-22, according to Evolving Hockey. Additionally, he ranks seventh in save percentage among goalies who have played at least 100 games since 2021-22. In terms of playoff save percentage, he ranks third in the league.
Swayman has had a major impact in the NHL already. And at 25 years old, he certainly can develop his game even further. He took a stand for a contract he certainly felt he deserved. In the end, he won that bet and makes out with an incredible contract.
Bruins sign Jeremy Swayman
The Bruins certainly may have been caught off guard by Jeremy Swayman’s initial contract demands. And to an extent, it’s understandable how this can be frustrating to the team. However, they took a huge risk in making that frustration public. This risk certainly did not work out.
Signing Swayman to an eight-year contract is definitely beneficial. It avoids having to do this all over again any time soon. And it means the team’s goalie of the present and future is signed long-term. However, it’s certainly a less than desired look to pay Swayman more than the $64 million espoused by Neely in his press conference.
The Bruins do well to sign Swayman to a long-term contract. And they do well sign him to a reasonable cap hit. In saying this, they had little leverage to begin with. They have had little leverage since the Linus Ullmark trade. They tried to hedge their bets on public pressure to get Swayman to play ball. In the end, they were the ones who struck out.
Grades and final thoughts
Jeremy Swayman receives a high contract grade for his part in this deal. He held firm on his stance in negotiations and did not waver in the face of public pressure. As a result, he received the contract he wanted essentially on his terms. The Bruins, meanwhile, receive an above-average grade. The contract itself isn’t too bad for the Bruins. However, the public context around this deal drops their grade.
Jeremy Swayman grade: A+
Boston Bruins grade: C+
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