BRIGHTON, Mass. — Don Sweeney has a word for some of Ryan Whitney’s recent reporting. It’s naughty, one he has never said at a press conference.
“I think it’s bulls—,” the Boston Bruins general manager said Wednesday at Warrior Ice Arena, “that somebody says I wouldn’t return a call for three weeks.”
Sweeney was referring to Whitney’s Sept. 4 declaration on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast. Whitney said the Bruins had offered Swayman a four-year deal at $6.2 million annually. Nobody from the organization, Whitney said, had returned Swayman’s calls for three-and-a-half weeks.
That Sweeney additionally referred to the show as the “Spitting Up On Yourself” podcast further reflects his opinion of Whitney and Paul Bissonnette’s chatter.
Sweeney’s out-of-character flareup would not have occurred if Swayman were under contract. If Swayman were signed, the general manager would have spent his Wednesday press conference discussing sunshine and rainbows. He is pleased with his roster. The 2024-25 Bruins will be bigger, nastier and better designed for postseason belligerence.
But Swayman is unsigned. As such, the would-be No. 1 goalie will not participate in Thursday’s first on-ice sessions of training camp. Swayman has removed most of his gear from the rink.
“He has chosen to wait, and rightfully so, until a contract is settled,” Sweeney said. “It’s our intention to continue to negotiate a contract. I’m disappointed that, when you set things as a priority in a general manager’s spot, you do your best to accomplish that, and I haven’t been able to do that yet.”
The degree of their disagreement is unknown. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Swayman is asking for $9.5 million annually. Even if Swayman is worth $11.5 million, the Bruins are unwilling to endorse such a payout for someone who has never been a No. 1 regular-season goalie.
A four-year, $28 million compromise could provide temporary relief. But it is a solution neither side wants to accept at this time.
So Swayman will not be with the team. Sweeney plans to continue speaking with Lewis Gross, Swayman’s agent.
“As I said, I’m disappointed,” Sweeney said. “But at the end of the day, I’m optimistic. Because I think we’ll find a landing spot before Dec. 1.”
It was no coincidence Sweeney mentioned that date — twice, in fact. Swayman is ineligible to play this season if there is no deal by then.
The Bruins have options, albeit less than ideal ones, in Joonas Korpisalo and Brandon Bussi. Swayman, however, would lop an entire year off his career, plus lose a season’s worth of wages.
Labor has more to lose than management. Sweeney was reminding Swayman of that fact by citing the drop-dead date.
“I do believe he’ll be in before Dec. 1,” Sweeney said. “Because we all want him to play hockey. Our team will be better for it.”
This is familiar territory for Sweeney. In 2017, David Pastrnak missed one day of camp because he was unsigned. Two years later, Charlie McAvoy (three days) and Brandon Carlo (five) were unavailable in camp before signing. All three signed bridge deals (six years for Pastrnak, three for McAvoy, two for Carlo) that preceded their current long-term contracts.
“Constant communication. Dialogue. Finding common ground,” Sweeney said of negotiating with J.P. Barry (Pastrnak’s agent), Michael Curran (McAvoy) and Craig Oster (Carlo) before gaining traction. “It’s hopefully no different in this case.”
Swayman believes that holding firm is preferable to compromise. In one way, he may be right.
Last year, Swayman didn’t play until the fourth game of the preseason. Game No. 4 of this preseason is Sept. 28. That would give Sweeney and Gross more than a week to finalize a contract.
But every practice Swayman misses is lost time. Prospects like Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov are desperate to open eyes and break camp with the varsity. On every handle, Lysell and Merkulov will do whatever they can to go bar down or crash the net. These are high-quality attempts that matter to goalies. Swayman will not get them wherever he spends his days awaiting an agreement.
“Every day that Jeremy’s out, it hurts our team, hurts him,” Sweeney said. “There’s a preparation we would like to do and he needs to do. But that’s not going to stop me from hopefully finding common ground.”
For now, the Bruins will turn to Korpisalo and Bussi. Neither, in all likelihood, is complaining that Swayman is unsigned. It gives them more reps and closer attention from goalie coach Bob Essensa. It’s a good platform for Korpisalo to initiate his Ottawa-to-Boston acclimation. Bussi just wants a chance.
“Brandon’s been here. Hasn’t been in games. That’s the next level,” Sweeney said. “If you want to prove it, then you’re going to have to go out and prove it on that stage. And he’s going to get a good opportunity given our circumstances. Joonas is going to be able to build a rapport with Bob every day now. Moving forward, tweak the parts of his game he would like to see continue to improve, not unlike what he did with Linus (Ullmark) when he was brought in.”
The Bruins’ first group hits the ice at 10 a.m. on Thursday. Two days of practice precede Saturday’s scrimmage in Providence. A day later, the Bruins open the preseason against the New York Rangers.
Whether Swayman misses all of this is unknown.
(Photo: Richard T Gagnon / Getty Images)
