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Elliotte Friedman Comments on Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman Trade Rumors
One more day, one more update on the ongoing saga involving the Boston Bruins and prospective starting goaltender, yet pending restricted free agent, Jeremy Swayman. This time, Elliotte Friedman addressed some rumors surrounding Swayman and the Bruins potentially working on a trade of the goalie, as well as refuting some reports talking about an eight-year contract already signed.
Most importantly, while Friedman acknowledged there’s still a gap between Swayman’s contract demands and what the Bruins are willing to pay, the insider clarified on the September 20 episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast that a trade isn’t likely on the horizon. “I haven’t spoken to Don Sweeney, but my impressions are that the Bruins do not want to trade Swayman,” Friedman said. The Bruins might “pivot and consider trading Swayman,” given the stalemate. However, he was clear in his response of no trades currently being in the Bruins plans.
Friedman emphasized that despite the contract impasse, the Bruins’ goal is to keep their young goaltender for this season and the foreseeable future. Having already moved on from Linus Ullmark, trading both of their top goalies is not part of the plan. “I believe (keeping Swayman) is their goal and trading him is not what they are considering or want to do,” Friedman added.
As for why GM Don Sweeney recently mentioned a December 1 deadline in his most recent media availability from Boston’s training camp, Friedman suggested it was a strategic move to avoid losing leverage in the ongoing negotiations. “What Sweeney was doing was mentioning December 1 so that no other date or deadline can be used as leverage or a pressure point against us,” Friedman explained.
As the Boston Bruins enter training camp without Jeremy Swayman around, given the deadlock in contract negotiations, tensions are escalating. On the eve of training camp, Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney addressed the media on September 18 and called out the hosts of the “Spittin’ Chiclets” podcast over spreading false rumors surrounding Jeremy Swayman’s contract situation.
“I think it’s b*******,” Sweeney said at Warrior Ice Arena. The GM added that it was untrue to suggest the Bruins hadn’t communicated with Swayman over three weeks, taking a jab at the name of the podcast sarcastically referring to it as “Spitting Up On Yourself.”
It was a rare outburst during a media availability that Sweeney is not known for usually pulling off. He strongly refuted Ryan Whitney’s report from September 4, who claimed that the Bruins had offered Swayman a four-year, $6.2 million deal and had failed to return the goalie’s calls for three and a half weeks.
“That’s inaccurate,” Sweeney said. “My son loves (Spittin Chiclets’ cohost Paul Bissonnette) and thinks he’s fabulous. I think he’s a great entertainer, but at the end of the day, they’re inaccurate. “That’s okay, because that’s all part of the business nowadays. It’s okay if you turn around and say it’s your opinion or your belief and such, but don’t report it as fact. That’s all I’m asking.”
