BOSTON — The Boston Bruins signed Jeremy Swayman to an eight-year contract on Sunday that will pay him $66 million, getting their No. 1 goalie back on the ice just two days before the season opener.
A restricted free agent, Swayman had missed all of training camp. The sides faced a Dec. 1 deadline for him to sign or sit out the entire season, a potential disaster for a team that last year had two top goalies - Swayman and 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark - rotating in the net until the beginning of the playoffs.
After serving as the No. 2 to Ullmark in Boston’s record-setting 2022-23 season, Swayman failed to come to terms on a long-term contract in the summer of 2023 and was awarded a $3.475 million deal in arbitration. He bristled at the process and said: “I don’t want to do it ever again.”
Swayman alternated with Ullmark last year, making 43 starts in the regular season with a 2.53 goals-against average before winning the No. 1 job in the playoffs. The Bruins lost to eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida in the second round.
Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said signing Swayman in the offseason was his top priority, but he traded Ullmark away before locking up the 25-year-old from Alaska - timing that gave the player leverage in negotiations.
When training camp began (in September), Swayman was still unsigned. The Bruins had Joonas Korpisalo, who was acquired from the Senators in the Ullmark trade, and 26-year-old Brandon Bussi, who played 41 games for Providence of the AHL last season, on the roster.
Coach Jim Montgomery said at the beginning of camp that he was treating Swayman’s absence like an injury: “It’s next man up.”
Korpisalo started 49 games for Ottawa last season with a 3.27 GAA. Boston also got the Senators’ 2024 first-round draft pick and forward Mark Kastelic in the deal.
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