BOSTON — Jeremy Swayman is delighted for two of his goalie brothers. On Wednesday, Linus Ullmark signed a four-year, $33 million contract with the Ottawa Senators. Ullmark, whose extension begins in 2025-26, will earn $8.25 million annually. Swayman is already earning that sum.
A day earlier, Joey Daccord signed a five-year, $25 million contract with the Seattle Kraken. Daccord is the son of Boston University goalie coach Brian Daccord, who oversaw Swayman’s on-ice work at Agganis Arena while he was unsigned in training camp.
Daccord was a pending restricted free agent. So was Swayman when he signed his eight-year, $66 million blockbuster.
“It’s incredible,” said Swayman. “It’s a goalie union. We all know how hard it is to win games in this league. To see guys get rewarded that way, it’s just awesome to see. Both those guys work extremely hard. Couldn’t be happier for them and their teams.”
Swayman may have touched both of his peers’ negotiations with his breakthrough payday. Swayman’s deal raised eyes around the league for how soundly he got the best of his employer. One hockey operations executive, granted anonymity to speak about a player not on his team, believed the best Swayman was going to do with the Bruins was a seven-year extension with a $7 million AAV.
“That’s an overpay,” the executive said of Swayman earning $1.25 million more annually than he projected.
Thursday at TD Garden was the first showing for Swayman and his bulging wallet. As expected, considering his camp absence and pressure of his contract, Swayman was not at his best in the Boston Bruins’ 6-4 win over the Montreal Canadiens. Swayman posted an .833 save percentage, which does not align with his paycheck.
When the Bruins reconvene for work at Warrior Ice Arena on Friday, Swayman has an 11:30 a.m. appointment with goalie coach Bob Essensa. It will be only his second practice.
“Not satisfied,” Swayman said. “Guys in front of me did an incredible job. I just know I’ve got a lot of work to do. I’m excited to get to work.”
Swayman entered Thursday’s game with just one practice in his bag — Monday in Fort Lauderdale ahead of the 6-4 season-opening loss to the Florida Panthers. As diligently as Brian Daccord worked with Swayman at BU, the NHL goalie was facing NCAA shots. The two are nowhere near the same.
You could argue, with a snicker, that the rebuilding Canadiens — playing the second of back-to-back games, at that — are not far ahead of the Terriers. But the team that was formerly the Bruins’ fiercest rival is shaping itself around dangerous forwards such as Cole Caufield and Brendan Gallagher, both of whom solved Swayman.
Caufield’s goal, in particular, showed how far Swayman has to go. When Kaiden Guhle wound up for a shot from the point, Swayman tried to peek around Juraj Slafkovský and Hampus Lindholm. Swayman looked the wrong way.
When he’s on, Swayman gets a bead on Guhle’s release. He also reads Caufield as a far-post threat. Swayman did neither. He looked almost surprised when Caufield tucked in a no-resistance goal.
The goalie rotation that was formerly the Bruins’ bedrock is under construction. Joonas Korpisalo was good but not great against the Panthers.
“Just the flow of the game,” said Swayman when asked about the hardest part to retrieve after a long NHL layoff. “Reading the most dangerous guy on the ice, the guy usually without the puck. Just getting the flow back. I know exactly what I need to do. Goalie Bob and Korpi and I are going to go to work.”
Swayman’s natural talent is good enough to get him through turbulence as he adjusts to the NHL pace. In the third period, Swayman stretched out his left skate to get his blade on Kirby Dach’s shot. In the second, after Johnny Beecher’s defensive-zone pass to a stickless Hampus Lindholm gave Nick Suzuki a close-range shot, Swayman gloved the Montreal captain’s attempt.
But the three-plus weeks of camp Swayman missed cannot be made up instantly. He needs action, both in games and practices, to feel comfortable doing what he does best: tracking pucks, reading plays, anticipating chances.
As for NHL battle, it appears Swayman is in mid-season form. At the end of the second, Swayman swatted Suzuki in the chest with his glove. Suzuki approached the goalie. Swayman responded with waggles of his glove, inviting him into his kitchen. Nothing happened. After the win, Swayman cracked that he had to lean on Suzuki with his glove to catch his balance.
Jeremy Swayman exchanges pleasantries with Nick Suzuki. pic.twitter.com/ZbPkrXnf5U
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) October 11, 2024
“It gets you into the game,” Swayman said of jousting with opponents. “I’ve got different tactics of getting myself in the game — being vocal with my guys, chatting with the refs. Just doing my thing. Bringing my swagger, my calmness to the building. I know that’s when I play my best. If I’ve got to get my balance, that’s the way I’m going to do it.”
(Photo: Rich Gagnon / Getty Images)
