Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman will not report to team until contract is done

When speaking to the media on Wednesday, Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney revealed that goaltender Jeremy Swayman will not be reporting to training camp when the team takes the ice for the first time on Thursday.

Sweeney is still optimistic, telling the media that he expects the contract to be finalized prior to the Dec. 1 deadline, but he admitted that he is disappointed that Swayman is not at camp.

“Every day that Jeremy is out,” Sweeney explained. “It hurts our team and it hurts him, because of the preparation that we’d like to do and he needs to do.”

While specifics about the negotiations between Swayman and the Bruins aren’t public knowledge, Sweeney was adamant that a report from the “Spittin’ Chiclets” podcast—that Sweeney had not returned calls from Swayman in a few weeks—was false.

“It’s been reported we’ve been incommunicative. That’s far from the truth. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find anybody in the league where I’d spend three weeks not returning a phone call. I’m not talking specifics. You’re just not going to get them. But I think it’s bulls— that somebody says I wouldn’t return a call for three weeks. That’s inaccurate.”

Sweeney also refuted a report that the two parties were close to a deal heading into the start of camp.

“It’s 100% inaccurate. [Can I] make it any more pointed than that?”

Swayman is currently a restricted free agent after finishing his one-year bridge deal, which had a $3.475 million cap hit. Though the team moved on from his former goaltending partner, Linus Ullmark, the Bruins have not been able to get a deal done with one of the best young puck-stoppers in the game.

With that being a few months away, Bruins fans might have to start coming to grips with the fact that Joonas Korpisalo might be the No. 1 guy come the team’s season opener against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Oct. 8. Korpisalo was the notable return in the trade that saw Ullmark sent to the Ottawa Senators. The Bruins also have Brandon Bussi and Michael DiPietro under contract as well.

Though Swayman and Ullmark were unquestionably one of the best tandems in the NHL, Swayman took the reins as the starter during last year’s playoffs. The 2020 Mike Richter Award winner stood on his head against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round, but was unable to stifle the Panthers in round two.

In 44 appearances during the 2023-24 regular season, Swayman posted a 25-10-8 record with a 2.53 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage and three shutouts. In 12 postseason starts, he went 6-6 with a 2.15 GAA and .933 SV%.

Across four seasons with the Bruins, Swayman has made 132 appearances, registering a record of 79-33-15. He has a career GAA of 2.34, a .919 SV% and 12 shutouts. The Anchorage, Alaska native is 9-10 in 20 playoff games with a 2.38 GAA and .922 SV%.