Bruins' Marchand on Swayman Rumors: 'It's part of the game'

The Boston Bruins and Jeremy Swayman continue to talk contract extension and frankly, it's starting to get messy. Bruins' president Cam Neely recently spoke to the media and mentioned if he was Swayman, he'd have '64 million reasons he'd be playing'. 

The fun part? The Bruins have never offered the elite netminder this much. The conversations have turned from the podium with management to inside the dressing room. Bruins captain Brad Marchand was recently asked about the Swayman talks and if it's becoming a distraction and as expected, Marchand was open and honest about it all. 

I wouldn't say it's hard to keep it out of the room. ... We all understand the situation that the team and Sway are in. This is part of the game. ... It's the part that nobody enjoys. Eventually, the deal is going to get done and everyone's gonna move on and be fine. When you're dealing with a term deal, once it's signed, there's so much weight that gets lifted off, not just the player's shoulder but the team.

Then it's just all about coming together and finding a way to win and building toward that goal. It's tough because we all care about Sway. We want to see him back. ... Every player goes through it at some point. To the extent in which it gets dragged on is always different, but everybody goes through negotiations.

Swayman and the Bruins have until Dec.1 to get a contract completed or else the netminder isn't eligible for the 2024-25 season. 

There's been some rumors about trade talks and insider Elliotte Friedman admitted recently he's heard some noise a couple of weeks ago. Teams like the Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Utah HC could be in the mix if things go from bad to worse in Boston.

Photo credit:  James Guillory-Imagn Images