For 3 years, the Bruins rostered two of the very best goalies within the NHL. Proper now they’ve neither.
If this was Don Sweeney’s plan, then to quote Black Widow’s little sister: “Your plan sucks.”
The Bruins opened camp on Thursday with neither Linus Ullmark nor Jeremy Swayman in internet. They traded the former in order to hand the keys to the latter whereas yeah-yeah-yeahing away one tiny element: Swayman’s a restricted free agent. And it seems negotiations aren’t going effectively.
WEEI’s Rich Keefe reports that Swayman desires $10 million a yr and the Bruins aren’t prepared to pay him greater than $8 million. That sounds surmountable in case you comply with baseball, the place $8 million will get you a great center reliever, however it would possibly as effectively be the good wall of Westeros in a hard-capped sport like hockey.
The only two goalies making at least $10 million annually are Montreal’s Carey Worth and Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky. Each have gained the Vezina Trophy, whereas Bobrovsky simply backstopped the Panthers to their first Stanley Cup.
For convoluted causes distinctive to hockey, it is not Swayman’s turn to make that kind of dough. But when ever a participant had been positioned to problem a system which prioritizes previous efficiency over future projection, it is the UMaine grad.
The Bruins, in any case, are legit Cup contenders, because of Sweeney’s in any other case strong offseason. He added two-way center Elias Lindholm and bruising defenseman Nikita Zadorov to deal with a scarcity of physicality that doomed the B’s within the second spherical vs. the Panthers. After years of standard season success that did not translate to the playoffs, the Bruins out of the blue look constructed to win subsequent spring.
That optimism evaporates with out Swayman, which is why I do not purchase the argument that the Bruins maintain all of the leverage.
There isn’t any means they wish to gamble their season on the untested Brandon Bussi and/or declining Joonas Korpisalo, just because Boston’s goalie platoon technically denied Swayman the chance to be a full-time No. 1 and thus make No. 1 cash. He positive regarded the half final spring vs. the Maple Leafs and Panthers, when the Bruins handed him the reins. He’s broadly thought of a top-10 expertise, so pay him like one.
The Bruins are too good all over the place else to simply wing it in internet, which provides Swayman appreciable energy. Coach “Goalie Bob” Essensa has labored his share of miracles, however ranging from scratch three weeks earlier than the opener feels sub-optimal. The Bruins comprehend it, and Swayman positively does, too.
The B’s can counter that if Swayman would not signal by Dec. 1 — a date Sweeney invoked multiple times during Wednesday’s combative press conference — then he’ll miss the season, which does not enhance anybody’s bargaining place.
Veiled threats are one solution to method the negotiation, I suppose, however it will be extra productive to safe Swayman to a contract that displays his price, quite than enjoying hardball and costing him worthwhile prep time for the season. As it’s, the Bruins are already damaging their relationship with the Alaska native, who’s nonetheless smarting from final yr’s contentious arbitration listening to. Let this drag on too lengthy, and everyone loses.
Moreover, if the Bruins needed value certainty, they need to’ve simply saved Ullmark, who nonetheless had one yr remaining on the $20 million extension he signed in 2021. However they acknowledged the 25-year-old Swayman had surpassed him, in order that they selected expertise over comfort and traded the 31-year-old to Ottawa.
It was laborious to fault the logic, which made sense in the event that they deliberate on paying Swayman. And possibly they nonetheless will, like earlier holdouts David Pastrňák and Charlie McAvoy, who arrived inside days of the primary follow.
The 2 sides really feel extra entrenched this time, and that is scary. Assuming the $10 million ask is solely a negotiating tactic, there’s room for the Bruins to get uncomfortable. What is the worst that occurs in the event that they break with precedent and overpay their franchise goalie?
If Swayman’s nearly as good as they clearly consider, then they will have locked up probably the most necessary positions on the ice for six-plus years. Even $9 million yearly will ultimately really feel like a discount because the cap rises.
The choice is taking this factor into the season, the place it is going to fester. In that case, the Bruins ought to brace for the results and put together to defend how their plan was really no plan in any respect.
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