Boston Bruins reporter and columnist Jimmy Murphy was recently on the Fifth Liners podcast and said that a scout told him he’s got a “weird feeling on this Swayman thing.” Hinting that this negotiation between the Bruins and goaltender Jeremy Swayman is going to take a while to get finalized, the scout not only pointed to the line in the sand Swayman has drawn but similarities to William Nylander‘s previous negotiations with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“I think it’s going to go for a long time,” said the scout. When asked why, he responded, “Do you not remember William Nylander? Well, who is Swayman’s agent?”
Lewis Gross is Swayman’s agent. He also represents Nylander. In the salary cap era, Nylander has the longest standoff with a team in NHL history. Nylander signed in the final hours of the deadline on December 1st of 2018 and got a late start on the season. He didn’t play well to start things off, and the delay certainly affected all parties involved. This is also the same agent who repped Torey Krug, and things didn’t go all that smoothly as Krug exited the Bruins and went to St. Louis.
Murphy says that this situation between the Bruins and Swayman is now bigger than just these two parties. “This is about the CBA, this about the player’s union, this is about owners.” Murphy says that Swayman has the right to fight for future players, but the problem is when a player directly or indirectly goes after owners, both sides dig in.
Recent reports speculate that the Bruins aren’t close to where Swayman wants to be in terms of both the AAV and the term.
Bruins Need to Get This Swayman Deal Done
Murphy suggested that if something isn’t done in the next two weeks, this could really drag out, and the Bruins are going to be in some trouble. Brandon Bussi gave up four goals on 32 shots in a 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers. Joonas Korpisalo did look good in his 30 minutes in the net on Tuesday, but there are still questions about how much he can handle.
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