Insider suggests “Bruins could wash their hands of Swayman and trade him”
Swayman’s contract standoff leads to intense rumours out of Boston:
Goalie Jeremy Swayman is still missing from the Boston Bruins’ training camp until he signs a new contract. After trading Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators earlier this summer, the Bruins look to Swayman to lead the way in Boston with a bigger workload, but for now, he remains on the sidelines without any work to in between the Bruins’ pipes. This has prompted many rumours on the netminder, insider Elliotte Friedman revealing on Friday that some people have been asking if the Bruins might consider moving the restricted free agent.
While Friedman mentioned that he doesn’t think the Bruins will trade Swayman, he did add that GM Don Sweeney has been very quiet on what’s happening in the contract stalemate.
Lyle Richardson of the Hockey News does wonder if “the Bruins could wash their hands of Swayman and trade him”, though for now the Dec. 1 deadline is still months away and the trade talk comes in a little too early to be serious.
“It’s far too early for that kind of talk. Training camp is less than a week old, and there’s plenty of time for the two sides to get a deal done. Sweeney mentioned the Dec. 1 deadline for signing RFAs, but it would be unusual if negotiations stretched that far,” writes Richardson.
“Still, the longer this situation goes on, the more questions will be raised about the Bruins’ willingness to keep Swayman in the fold, the cost of doing so and how receptive they could be to trade offers.”
Last year, Swayman recorded a .916 save percentage in 44 games and ranked fifth in the NHL in goals saved above expected. The Bruins need him once the season gets underway and every day that goes by without an agreement gets fans extremely nervous.