Elliotte Friedman: Jeremy Swayman Reportedly Contemplating Trade Request from Boston Bruins

An ugly contract dispute between the Boston Bruins and their restricted free agent, Jeremy Swayman, took a dramatic turn on Monday. According to Swayman's agent, Lewis Gross, the latest claims from the team were strongly denied. In that process, controversy mounted as one contentious element of the dispute over contract dollar numbers threw a new layer of complexity into negotiations between the young netminder and the team. Thus, Swayman, 25 years old, will not report to the camp of the Bruins until a deal is agreed upon.

With Jeremy Swayman out to start training camp, the Bruins open their regular season with their backup goaltender Joonas Korpisalo on October 8 against the Florida Panthers. As Jim Montgomery said, "He's fit in so far, so good. I think we can be confident in his abilities." Obviously, that's little consolation for the absence of Swayman. Team president Cam Neely said during a news conference last week that while Swayman probably wants to stay in Boston, it's "unfortunate" the two sides haven't gotten a deal done to this point.

But Gross isn't budging. He's unhappy with the Bruins for making contract numbers public, and he rejected their spin of the offer, too. The rumors are that he is looking for a deal that will reset the goalie market, potentially slotting him in alongside the top-paid goaltenders, such as Tampa's Andrei Vasilevskiy. On the other side, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney has taken heat for trading Linus Ullmark without having Swayman signed to a new deal as the two combined for one of the best goaltending tandems in the league over the past couple of seasons.

The impasse has kept fans of the Bruins waiting until it is resolved. Of course, with reported rumors coming now from NHL insider Elliotte Friedman that Jeremy Swayman may formally request a trade, things could get even more messy and dramatic. A request for a trade would put the Bruins in a very tough spot, as they already got rid of Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators, and it might parallel situations similar to the Jake DeBrusk trade request they received in 2021. As things stand, though, the main focus is on the ability of both sides to move past their current impasse.

The hockey world will be paying a lot of attention over the next few weeks to precisely how this saga unfolds. If cool heads prevail, Jeremy Swayman and the Bruins could find common ground and reach a deal. Otherwise, such continued escalation may bring serious repercussions on both parties in this contract standoff. Hopefully, they will find a way to get on the same page and to find a path forward for the season at hand.