BRIGHTON, Mass. — “I gave him a lot of minuses today,” Jeremy Swayman said with a smile. “I owed him a couple saves.”
It was Feb. 21. Swayman was talking about Charlie McAvoy. The defenseman scored in overtime to give the Bruins a 6-5 win over the Edmonton Oilers. Swayman was referring to McAvoy being on the ice for three straight Edmonton goals, which wiped out a 4-1 Bruins lead. All three were off rebounds.
Three nights later, Swayman stopped 36 of 39 shots in the Bruins’ 3-2 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks. Swayman was very good. He had no chance on the three Vancouver goals.
“Why were pucks sticking to you better tonight versus the Edmonton game?” I asked Swayman.
He didn’t care for the question.
“I didn’t have a good stick in Edmonton, eh?” he responded with a smirk. “Is that what you’re just thinking? Uh huh. OK.”
Swayman proceeded with his answer.
“I learn from every game, Fluto,” Swayman continued. “That’s something I want to do, is be known as a goalie that’s going to track pucks, that’s not going to give out rebounds and give my team the best chance to win every game every given night.”
Two days later, the Bruins were in Seattle. Swayman was backing up Linus Ullmark. As such, he was one of the last players off the Climate Pledge Arena ice following the morning skate.
The moment he saw me in the dressing room, he had something to say.
“That sticky enough for you?” Swayman asked.
He followed it up with a head shake and a crack about my question in Edmonton coming from a goalie dad, knowing I have two at home. We laughed it off. We proceeded to discuss a Thai restaurant in Seattle, a joint he termed one of the best in the league.
We get along. But I tell the story to make several points:
- Swayman remembers every slight and uses them as motivation.
- He doesn’t care for critiques.
- He has a long memory.
All of this is relevant to Swayman, his unsigned contract and his uncomfortable 2023 arbitration hearing. As for the latter, Swayman mentioned it, unprompted, on Jan. 13 following a 4-3 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues.
“It’s really special,” said Swayman of being named an All-Star that day. “First and foremost, it couldn’t happen without the team in front of me. I’m so lucky to be on such a defensive-structured team that takes pride in the D-zone and, of course, gets it done in the offensive zone. Huge kudos to them for allowing this to happen. After doing what I did this summer with arbitration and hearing things a player should never hear, it feels pretty special to be in this situation.”
The Bruins had their first on-ice camp practice on Thursday at Warrior Ice Arena. Swayman was not there.
For now, he is committed to the term and salary he wants, whatever that may be. So for the time being, Swayman is unwilling to bend to his employer. It aligns with his personality. Swayman, in addition to the points above, is very confident in himself.
Another story: By January of 2022, Tuukka Rask was ready to return from hip surgery. The veteran had signed a one-year, $1 million contract. Ullmark was in the first season of his four-year, $20 million deal.
Swayman was a second-year pro. Unlike Rask and Ullmark, he could be sent to AHL Providence without waivers. It was the logical and only transaction.
Swayman disagreed. He believed he deserved to be in Boston. In his mind, the assignment was “not ideal.”
It suits Swayman, then, not to accept something he doesn’t believe is right. Arbitration left him with scar tissue. He thinks it’s his turn to respond.
That is his right. It is also the Bruins’ right to pursue alternatives.
On Thursday, they signed depth pro goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo to a professional tryout agreement. The 30-year-old joined Brandon Bussi and Ryan Bischel in the second session.
Joonas Korpisalo, meanwhile, anchored the first session with Michael DiPietro and Nolan Maier. Swayman’s absence gives Korpisalo the reps he needs with goaltending coach Bob Essensa to reach previous levels of performance.
“It doesn’t change my job,” Korpisalo said of Swayman’s absence. “Quite frankly, I just want to focus on my job. Of course, he’s a great guy. I got to work with him before the camp. Great guy. Great goalie. I’m just focusing on myself.”
A final insight on Swayman: He loves being an NHL goalie. Swayman beat the odds of being from Alaska — not a regular stop for scouts — to make it. He knows he could have been a heli-ski guide had he not made the most of a teenage opportunity.
Every camp session Swayman misses will hurt. General manager Don Sweeney, who knows Swayman better than me, is aware of this. It’s why Sweeney made it a point to mention Dec. 1 — Swayman is ineligible to play in 2024-25 if he doesn’t sign by then — on two occasions Wednesday. The last thing Swayman wants is to miss games, to say nothing of an entire season and its accompanying wages.
Meeting halfway, then, could be the solution. One NHL agent, who has a client on the Bruins, concurred with a four-year compromise. The agent, granted anonymity to discuss a player he does not represent, believed Swayman could do as well as $7.5 million annually on a four-year settlement.
Whether the sides have discussed such a meeting point is unknown. For now, the disagreement continues.
Swayman, perhaps more than most of his peers, is wired to dig in.
(Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
