The relationship between the Boston Bruins organization and goaltender Jeremy Swayman is on thin ice, after president Cam Neely decided to take the contract negotiations public.
Swayman is a restricted free agent and is waiting on a new extension. This comes just months after the team decided to trade away Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators before his no-trade clause kicked in, despite not having Swayman signed to an extension.
Neely referenced '$64 million reasons why he would be playing", however Swayman's agent called out the Bruins for lying and confirmed there's never been a $64-million offer made to Swayman's camp. It's gone from bad to worse and there's now a legitimate chance the Bruins are listening to trade offers.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman wrote a quick hit on the Bruins' debacle and had this to say regarding a deal, "Two weeks ago, I started to hear rumours of a possible trade. The Bruins wouldn’t comment, but it was clear they told teams they weren’t considering it and wanted to keep him. Again, we will see if anything has changed. Remember, other teams are allowed to speak to Swayman because he’s an unsigned free agent."
Here's three teams to keep an eye on as potential landing spots for Swayman:
Colorado Avalanche
The Avs aren't sold on Alexandar Georgiev and Swayman would give them a goaltender for the 'now' and for the future. Georgiev is set to make $3.4 million and is a pending free agent, which would give Boston some options at season's end and avoid committing to anything long term until they see the fit. Meanwhile, Swayman would fit in perfectly in Colorado, who could also include Ross Colton in the trade to make the money work.
Utah Hockey Club
The soon-to-be named Yeti's need an upgrade in net and Swayman certainly fits the bill. Utah has the cap space, they have the draft capital, and they are actually one of the teams to watch when it comes to an offer sheet. Karel Vejmelka or Connor Ingram could be included in the deal, or the Bruins could go after one of Utah's young centres to help solidify some depth down the middle, or a player like Lawson Crouse, who could help replace Jake DeBrusk. Utah can afford Swayman, that's for sure.
Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks are an interesting team to watch as John Gibson has been tied to the Bruins in the past, and the Ducks have Lukas Dostal who is coming into his own. The Ducks took a couple of big swings during the offseason and tried to sign Steven Stamkos, so you know there's an appetite there to win now. A long shot of the three, but add Anaheim to the mix.
PHoto credit: © Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
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