The NHL has entered the quiet period as we close in on the end of July after free agency passed a few weeks ago. The Boston Bruins and GM Don Sweeney made two huge moves signing center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Nikita Zadorov to long-term contracts. After some minor signings and trading away goalie Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators in June, the Black and Gold have $8.6 million remaining in cap space.
Most of that remaining money, if not all, is likely going to end up going to goaltender Jeremy Swayman who is still a restricted free agent and awaiting a deal. By now, you have to think after neither the player or the club filed arbitration that a deal will get worked out. The one question that everyone wants to know is just how much the former University of Maine goalie end up getting? One NHL writer gave his thought and he has Swayman cashing in, big time.
NHL writer Dan Rosen has Jeremy Swayman cashing in
Rosen in his latest NHL mailbag for NHL.com said that if Swayman secures a long-term deal in the neighborhood of eight years, he'll likely come in below $9 million a season, however, if he gets a short-term deal, he could be looking at $9 or 10 million according to Rosen.
Swayman is 25 years old and entering the prime of his career and it would be wise for the Bruins and Sweeney to lock him up for the future. This past season he went 25-10-8 in the regular season with a 2.53 GAA and a .916 SV%, splitting the time with Ullmark. In the postseason, however, he took over the full-time playoff duties playing in 12 of the 13 and single-handily helping the Bruins survive a first-round series with the Toronto Maple Leafs by playing the best six-game stretch of his career.
In the end, Swayman has earned his money and is someone who is a vital part of the future and deserves to be paid like one of the top goalies in the league.