Bruins Dealing With Jeremy Swayman's Hefty Salary Demand

The Boston Bruins traded 1B goalie Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators while keeping 1A netminder Jeremy Swayman in tow but with the latter being a free agent the franchise might be getting into a bit of a situation.

According to comments made by WEEI Sports Radio’s Rich Keefe on the Jones & Keefe show, Swayman is seeking a $10 million per year contract, a deal the Bruins have not been willing to agree to for now.

This new report could explain the ongoing contract negotiations between the Bruins and their 25-year-old restricted free agent.

“Jeremy Swayman is looking for $10 million a year,” Keefe said on Boston’s 93.7 FM radio station . “That would put him with Sergei Bobrovsky and Carey Price.”

Swayman’s reported demand would make him the second-highest-paid goalie in the league, tied with Sergei Bobrovsky ( $10 million AAV ) of the Florida Panthers and just behind Carey Price ( $10.5 million AAV ) of the Montreal Canadiens.

This potential salary demand could be what is making the negotiations drag in time for longer than expected, and perhaps the main sticking point in negotiations.

Before this latest report, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman revealed on August 14 that Bruins and Swayman were still working on finding common ground.

"The last I heard, they weren't close," Friedman said. "I think this has been a bit of a challenging negotiation, but they've still got time, and we'll see how this sorts out."

The stalemate between the franchise and the player comes on the heels of an arbitration process that happened last season. Despite the perceived tension, Bruins President Cam Neely recently expressed confidence that a deal would be reached before training camp begins.

"Something will get done, there’s no question," Neely said appearing on WZLX’s "The Rich Shertenlieb Show" on August 22. "Not every negotiation is as smooth as you’d like it."

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