Swayman, Boston still negotiating a new deal as camps begin around the league

Training camps around the league are about to begin in preparation for the 2024-25 season. For the Boston Bruins, they'll begin without their presumed starting goalie Jeremy Swayman due to an ongoing contract dispute.

Boston General Manager Don Sweeney told the media on Wednesday that he was "disappointed" that a deal hadn't been completed yet, but remained optimistic that one would get done.

Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark formed a formidable duo for the Bruins over the last three seasons, winning the Jennings Trophy in 2023 after allowing the fewest goals in the league.

Fatigue rarely became an issue with the two splitting starts nearly 50/50. Now, with Ullmark being traded to the Senators during the offseason, Swayman's time has come to take control as the starter, as has his right to a better contract.

Jeremy Swayman's play for the Boston Bruins has earned him a payday

Since joining the league at the end of the 2020-21 season. Jeremy Swayman has been one of the NHL's most consistent goalies. Making 40 stops in his debut against the Flyers on April 6, 2021, he hasn't looked back.

During his first full season, Swayman led all rookies in wins (23), save percentage (.914), and GAA (2.41), the latter of which was fifth-best in the league. This was enough for him to finish fifth in Calder Trophy voting.

During his sophomore campaign, Swayman only got better. Finishing fourth in the league in save percentage and GAA, Swayman and Ullmark combined to allow only 167 goals as they won the Jennings.

Last season was the first time Swayman started the majority of Boston's games, starting 43 games and winning 25 of them. He was Top 10 in both GAA and save percentage for the second straight season, finishing seventh in Vezina voting.

Swayman's performances in the postseason have been solid, too. He was asked to relieve Ullmark in Boston's first-round series against Carolina in 2022 after Boston was dominated twice in Raleigh.

Swayman put together a string of quality starts in Boston to get the Bruins back in the series before they ultimately fell in Game 7 to the Hurricanes. He also took the reins for Boston's postseason run last season, earning his first career series victory in their seven-game defeat of the Maple Leafs.

While the negotiations between Swayman's camp and the Bruins aren't being done in public, it has been rumored that Swayman is wishing for a deal near $10 million per year.

This would make him the third-highest-paid goalie in the league, behind Carey Price and Sergei Bobrovsky. It would be a tight fit for Boston, who only have $8.6 million in cap space at the moment.

The best argument the Bruins can make in this case is that most of the league's top-paid goalies have individual hardware to their name. Bobrovsky has a pair of Vezina wins, while Carey Price has both a Hart and a Vezina.

Many goalies would potentially be making less than him who have greater accolades. Andrei Vasilevskiy is consistently in the mix for the Vezina, having won one, and Connor Hellebuyck is coming off a Vezina campaign.

For now, the Bruins will ride with Joonas Korpisalo, who they acquired in their offseason trade with the Senators, as their starter until a deal is reached. Despite some rough years in Columbus and last season in Ottawa, Korpisalo is more than serviceable as a starter.

That Don Sweeney explicitly stated December 1, the deadline for RFAs to sign, doesn't give me much confidence that anything is close, but negotiations can change on a dime. Don't be surprised if a deal is reached before Opening Night.