It’s officially August, the free agent frenzy has long passed us all by, and yes, the Boston Bruins and Jeremy Swayman remain without a deal in place.

Truth be told, that’s not anything that should shock you. First of all, look around the league; Detroit’s Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond remain without contracts, the Hurricanes and Seth Jarvis are still hammering away on a new deal, and same for Matty Beniers and the Kraken. When it comes to stud RFAs, these things tend to take time, and we’ve all been living in the lull of the NHL offseason for some time now. Now, do things pick up now that we’re in August, or have we already hit the “just wait for one party to say enough is enough and get a deal done the night before training camp officially begins” like with David Pastrnak in 2017?

I think one of the biggest reasons why a deal has not been struck right now is that both sides have time on their side. Camp does not open tomorrow, nor do the Bruins have literally any other business to handle between now and the start of camp, so if there’s ever been a window for a side to dig their heels in in pursuit of the best deal for their side, it’s right now.

But is there a middle ground within that for each side?

If the Bruins could have it their way, I'm sure they'd love to get the 25-year-old Swayman's prime years locked in on the Tuukka Rask contract, which was $7 million a year for eight years. Swayman's camp, meanwhile, would probably shoot for $9 million given the fact that the cap is going to continue to go up and the fact that Swayman bet on himself in 2023-24 and was an All-Star and then Boston's top playoff performer (by far).

Split the difference and you end up with $8 million per year, which puts Swayman in the top group of NHL goaltenders, and something that should allow both sides to win.

Something I’ve noted as potentially important throughout this process is that Swayman will be the first domino when it comes to the next wave of stud goaltenders getting paid. Swayman’s time is now, and new deals for the Stars’ Jake Oettinger and New York’s Igor Shesterkin are around the corner. Same for Vancouver’s Thatcher Demko (though at 28 he’s a bit on the older side in this group) and Florida’s Spencer Knight should his game rebound to the level it can. There’s been talk of Igor making over $10 million on his next deal, too. So, if you’re in Swayman’s camp, you’re probably looking at this essentially saying, “We can’t sign a deal that is embarrassingly under the new market standard by Year 3.”

So, again, is it a lot of money? Yes. It’s gonna be. It’s almost certainly going to be the most expensive contract for a goalie in the team’s 100-year history, surpassing the aforementioned 2013 contract signed by Rask.

But that’s the ultimate ‘it is what it is’ in all of this based on the events of the last calendar year, and the B’s knew that from the moment it went to arbitration in the first place.

That’s ultimately why that ‘$8 million per year for eight years’ has always seemed like the ideal landing point for the sides. Boston’s current roster and cap situation, with 21 skaters, one goalie (Joonas Korpisalo at $3 million), and $8.6 million in projected cap space seemingly confirms as much, too.

So again, is it that simple, or do you think there’s room to go south or north of that?

I would say that the recent contract extension for Juuse Saros in Nashville seems like something that could be good news for the Bruins. Saros, who has led the league in games played in three straight seasons and finished in the top six for the Vezina Trophy in four straight seasons, kicked off his summer with an eight-year deal worth just under $62 million. That gives him a cap hit of $7.74 million per year. Saros is a more accomplished goaltender, though he’s older (29 years old), so that number should help the Bruins.

But you also have someone such as Ilya Sorokin making $8.25 million on Long Island, so maybe this is yet another case of splitting the difference and landing on that aforementioned $8 million cap hit. Given some of the uncertainties in front of Swayman this season — particularly on the right side behind David Pastrnak in their top six — the Bruins would ultimately like to keep a decent chunk of change (relatively speaking) of that $8.6 million available for upgrades post Swayman signing. The Bruins have other ways of doing that, sure, from carrying a 20-skater roster opposed to a 21 or going with the cheaper Brandon Bussi over Korpisalo if ‘Goalie Bob’ cannot fix Korpisalo, but not beginning the year right up against the cap has to be of supreme interest to the Bruins after years and years of having to scour the CBA for some proverbial nickels and dimes in the couch cushions of Boston’s daily salary cap picture.

In case it hasn’t been made clear by now, count me as completely unconcerned with what’s gone on between the Bruins and Jeremy Swayman to this point. Nothing about this feels out of the ordinary when it comes to a big-money negotiation involving a player who will be part of your core — and in a starring role, they hope — for the next six years at least.

There’s also not a whiff of actual discontent between the sides.

Swayman wants to be here (and he actually opted to stay in Boston this summer), and has been seen around the team facilities multiple times since the offseason began. This isn’t like Dougie Hamilton not answering Sweeney’s calls once he became an RFA. Everybody going, “Oh, I don’t know, something’s weird here” is 100 percent guessing or leading with the attention-seeking part of their brain (I get it, it’s summer).

But the money itself, well, that remains anybody's guess.

Join the Discussion: » 6 Comments » Post New Comment

» B's captain Brad Marchand had one brutal summer

» Bruins make first jump into 'PTO' game

» Jeremy Swayman provides update on situation

» Bruins sign two more RFAs

» 5 thoughts on what B's did in free agency