The Bruins begin training camp in less than a month and Jeremy Swayman still remains unsigned. There’s been plenty of optimism from both the goalie and Boston’s brass that a long-term deal will get done in due time.
And coach Jim Montgomery added to the optimism while Fan Fest was in Lewiston, Maine over the weekend.
“I saw Jeremy (on Thursday) at Ray Bourque’s golf tournament. Him and I had a great conversation about leading, needing to become a leader as part of the Bruins,” he told reporters. “I don’t have anything to do with the contract situation. That’s not part of my job detail. My job is my connection with the players and how we’re gonna be good this year. And I have no doubt Jeremy Swayman will be a Bruin at the start of camp. We’ll be ready to go.”
Montgomery, who’s entering his third season as the Bruins coach, echoed what president Cam Neely said on “The Rich Shertenlieb Show” last week.
“Something will get done. There’s no question,” he said. “Not every negotiation is as smooth as you’d like it. I know our fan base would certainly love to have something done by now. But I’m fully confident that both sides will come to an agreement before too long here.”
Swayman emerged as Boston’s No. 1 goalie throughout the regular season, and particularly in the playoffs. He played all but one game for the Bruins during their run before they ultimately were eliminated in the second round by the Florida Panthers. He finished the regular season with a 25-10-8 record with a 2.53 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage.
The Bruins had one of the NHL’s top goalie tandems with Swayman and Linus Ullmark, but with the latter being traded to the Ottawa Senators this summer, Boston essentially put all its confidence in Swayman to be the No. 1 goalie for the foreseeable future.
Because Swayman is a restricted free agent, other teams can sign the goalie to an offer sheet. However, if any goalie-needy team were to go that route, they’d likely need to offer at least $9 million and several draft picks.
Training camp begins Sept. 18. And while the contract isn’t a done deal, it appears it’s just a matter of time before pen is put to paper.
Story by Lauren Campbell, masslive.com
