NHL Rumor Mill – October 1, 2024
The latest on the Bruins’ negotiations with Jeremy Swayman plus an update on the Leafs in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: We are experiencing technical difficulties today that are affecting the layout of today’s updates. We hope to have this rectified soon. Your patience is appreciated.
LATEST ON SWAYMAN
TSN: Boston Bruins president Cam Neely seemed to let the cat out of the bag regarding the club’s contract offer to Jeremy Swayman.
“I don’t want to get into the weeds with what his ask is but I know that I have 64 million reasons why I’d be playing right now,” Neely told reporters on Monday.
His remarks suggest the Bruins have offered Swayman an average annual value of $8 million at the league’s maximum term of eight years.
BOSTON HOCKEY NOW: Andrew Fantucchio reports that Swayman’s agent, Lewis Gross, took to social media Monday refuting Neely’s claim that the Bruins offered them a deal worth $64 million.

Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (NHL Images).
“I feel the need to defend my client,” wrote Gross. “This was the first time ($64 million) was discussed in our negotiations. Prior to the press conference, no offer was made approaching that level.”
Gross concluded by saying his camp was “extremely disappointed” and it was unfair to Swayman. “We will take a few days to discuss where we go from here.”
RG.ORG: Jimmy Murphy cites NHL sources suggesting Bruins ownership could be unhappy over Swayman’s comments in August regarding his contract negotiations. During an interview with Marc Lewis of Savage Sports, Swayman described his unhappiness over the arbitration process for his last contract, adding he’s since educated himself on the business side of the game and doesn’t want to adversely affect the market value of comparable goaltenders.
SPORTSNET: Elliotte Friedman examined where things could go in the Swayman negotiations from here.
Friedman believes the goalie’s camp is calling a timeout as they carefully evaluate the situation. That could include a trade as speculation “ran rampant” following Neely’s remarks. He also thinks the Bruins have publicly indicated how far they’re willing to go with their negotiations, putting the pressure firmly on Swayman.
Both sides are in agreement on a league-maximum eight-year contract but remain far apart on the money. Friedman thinks the Bruins may have offered between $60 million and $62 million. He also mentioned hearing trade rumors a couple of weeks ago but the Bruins were intent on signing Swayman but he wonders if things may have changed.
THE ATHLETIC: Despite the contract standoff between Swayman and the Boston Bruins, Fluto Shinzawa reports the Bruins aren’t ready to trade the 25-year-old goaltender.
Shinzawa points out that the Bruins need Swayman. The 25-year-old is poised to be their starting goalie for the next several seasons. He also noted that the Bruins would set a very high asking price while the acquiring team must sign him to a new contract.
It’s believed Swayman seeks an average annual value of $9.5 million.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Shinzawa’s report was published before Neely’s comments and Gross’ reply.
The Bruins have until the Dec. 1 deadline for signing restricted free agents to get Swayman under contract. The sooner they can accomplish that, the better it’ll be for the team and the netminder, who has already missed most of training camp and preseason play with the Bruins’ Oct. 9 season opener fast approaching.
It’s still premature to suggest trading Swayman. Nevertheless, the longer this standoff continues, the more speculation will be raised about his future in Boston. Neely’s comments and Gross’ reply suggest the crossroads has been reached. We’ll learn soon enough which direction they take.
HOW WILL THE MAPLE LEAFS SHED SALARY?
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Evan Doerfler cited TSN’s Darren Dreger last week suggesting Calle Jarnkrok and David Kampf as cost-cutting candidates for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Leafs are above the $88 million salary cap for the upcoming season. They must be cap-compliant before the start of the regular season.
Jarnkrok, 33, has an injury history and has already missed preseason play with a lower-body injury, raising concerns about his availability this season. He’s signed through 2025-26 with an AAV of $2.1 million and has a 10-team no-trade list.
Kampf, 29, has earned praise for his defensive work on the Leafs’ fourth line. Those skills might give him value in the trade market but his $2.4 million AAV through 2026-27 could be a sticking point for some teams. Like Jarnkrok, he has a 10-team no-trade list.
TORONTO SUN: Terry Koshan also mentioned Jarnkrok and Kampf as cost-cutting trade candidates. He suggested defenseman Conor Timmins and his $1.1 million cap hit could also be a trade option.
Nick Robertson requested a trade during the offseason but Koshan doesn’t expect he’ll be traded. The 23-year-old winger played well in training camp after signing a one-year deal with the Leafs.
THE ATHLETIC: James Mirtle speculates the Leafs could get some early-season cap relief by placing Jani Hakanpaa and Connor Dewar on long-term injury reserve. He also suggested Timmins could end up on waivers and Marshall Rifai be used as their seventh defenseman.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Puckpedia has the Leafs sitting above the cap by $1.069 million. They must be cap-compliant but must also find room to sign forwards Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz.
It’ll be interesting to see how they address this issue.
Love Swayman but I personally feel he hasn’t earned the large contract just yet. He has one good playoff year and has split the regular season with another great goalie so it’s easy to feed off each other. If the B’s are offering 8×8 then it’s more than reasonable imo. and if not, why not sign something shorter with more money to give him time to prove he’s worth what he’s asking?
Going through some trade scenarios for SWAYMAN…Buffalo would be an interesting partner.
If they did a swap for Lukkoonen and a high draft pick or prospect as he is an up and coming big sized goalie at 4.5 ..and Buffalo gives Swayman
$9 million plus this would put them into serious contention and Buffalo has the room moving forward and would solidify that position they have been coveting to match the rest of the teams young core …this would be a great swing for Buffalo ..IMO ..and gives Boston 2 decent goalies and a tandem situation and gives them cap relief as well..
Swayman hasn’t won a Stanley Cup, hasn’t won a Vezina, in fact he hasn’t even been a full time starting goalie and $8MM a year isn’t enough for him? If I was Boston’s GM, I’d tell him to see if a KHL team is stupid enough to give him that much ’cause he wouldn’t be getting it from me.
Good to see you back, Lyle. Hope the problems get fixed soon.
Do teams have to be cap compliant by the start of the overall NHL season (so Friday when the international games kick off), or is it by the start of each individual team’s 1st game?
all teams need to be cap compliant by the opening day of the regular season (Oct. 8th) no matter when their first regular season games is. Although, I have no idea how this affects Buffalo or NJ which starts their regular season on Oct. 4th in Czechia.
Neely throwing out that $64M comment is wild. And now the agent says they never received an offer approaching that amount.
Not sure how Neely thought that trying to embarrass/pressure the Swayman camp would help negotiations.
This sounds like it is getting personal (and uglier) now for both sides, which is never a good thing for a quick resolution.
I tend to side with the teams GM/President in these types of things. The organization has a image to think of with the public and media, especially when it comes to future negotiations with other players. We rarely see agents in the media unless it’s from the protection of a keyboard. Just like in this case.
But his agent is saying that’s the 1st time they heard that offer. Maybe GM shouldn’t negotiate through press?
maybe the agent is full of crap and didn’t tell his client that number because the agent wants a bigger pay day?
Hmm, you could be right.
This is a comment I found on another site:
Gross has a history of not informing his clients of offers from teams. He didn’t tell Torey Krug of an offer the Bruins made before he reached free agency. He didn’t tell Nylander of offers from the Maple Leafs the other year. Nylander actually had to go sit down with the team himself to get a a deal done. This is what likely happened here. The offer was made, but Gross didn’t inform his client. Now that the info is out there, Gross has to cover his rear end.
It’s possible Gross didn’t tell Swayman about the offer, but I would put it in the highly unlikely column. Especially if what you are saying Johnny is accurate with Krug and Nylander. That is a serious breach of trust, and IMO would finish you as an agent. That news would definitely get to the other players.
AZ and Johnny, would you hire an agent who did that? Me neither. If so, career ender IMO.
Eagleson did it to Bobby Orr when the B’s included an ownership stake prior to Orr going to Chicago. How did that work out for Eagleson?
Neely needs to let Sweeney do his job and handle the questions and the negotiations. Emotions don’t help in negotiations and anyone who has been in a difficult one understands why. It ain’t easy sometimes, but deal with it Neely. Getting angry can be very helpful when you’re playing a physical and emotional game like hockey, but not in this situation.
Let Sweeney do his job, plus he’s smarter that you Cam.
That would just never happen, if it did that agent would get kicked out, not only by their players but by the NHL/NHLPA as well
Hey Ray,
IMO from past comments to the media I actually have more faith in what Neely says than Sweeney. It’s also not unheard of of the President coming out to the media with the GM when contract negotiations get complicated with a player. If the rumor is true, they probably also know the history of Gross and his passed of not passing on proposals to his client. So this was a way for them to get the truth out to Swayman. Agents can be slimy people who you rarely see in the media. And if you do hear from them it’s from behind a keyboard, like in this case. And we all know how keyboards can make people feel invulnerable. lol
That’s fair KevJam, if that is in fact what happened and Swayman didn’t know about the offer, then well played. I still think Sweeney is the brains of the operation.
I get it there are plenty of slimy folks out there, but that would also mean Gross is an idiot. Which is also possible. Just seems like a pretty risky move if you are an agent and your reputation is your business. Also seems like something you could sue for, but would need to read that contract between Gross and Swayman.
I think they get Swayman signed, just might take longer than we B’s fans would like. I can’t see the B’s moving more than they have already.
It seems the Bruins have a great future in the GM. Why did Neely say that, true or not? Is he trying the, hey it want us or hey look how crazy this guy is BS?
I don’t know…I kinda respect the Bruins talent evaluations simply because of their great trade of Rask for he whom shall not be named. They might be on someth8ng but again, it’s Neely so I have my doubts. He’s made some horrible choices that luckily didn’t go south, so we’ll see! *reaching for popcorn*
I’ll name him Ron!
Andrew Raycroft
The agent initiated manipulation of the press, Neely is just following suit. Gross is toxic, he’s overplayed his hand. Swayman has never proven he can carry a starter’s load of 55-60 games. I have no reason to doubt Neely’s statement, he shoots straight and from the hip. Gross is full of **** in his response. The more money Swayman gets, the more Gross gets so I wouldn’t be surprised if Swayman has no idea an 8×8 was on the table. Swayman to the Ducks for McTavish and Gibson and move on.
Thinking that Connor Ingram and Matias Maccelli for Swayman would be a good trade for both clubs.
So, let me see if I have this right: Swayman is, to this stage anyway, overrated in terms of what he’s seeking since there is at least some legitimate doubt that he could handle 50 – 60 games as the true # 1, and so has to “prove” himself over a shorter term and at a lot less than what he’s seeking.
Since he doesn’t seem so inclined, the answer is to trade him for a 6′ 215 lb C taken 3rd overall in the draft who just concluded 64gp scoring 19g 23a 42 pts, AND Gibson.
Why would Anaheim do that?
@johnny
how good would Ingram be with the B’s system? or Swayman with Utah’s last season? Utah doesnt need to make that move imho anyways
It’s hard to envision Anaheim or Utah giving up Mctavish or Maccelli straight up for Swayman. Never mind adding to it. As you point out, he’s never shouldered a full work load in the NHL, and now his contract negotiations have become publicly ugly.
@ds:
OK, Macelli and Ingram for Swayman and Brazeau
Utah could use more size and a very good goalie, Ingrahm could be very good in the B’s system and the playmaking MM could be feeding Pasta and Lindy!
Yes Captain, plus other teams can talk to Swayman right now, he isn’t signed to a contract. If they want to trade for him, they want to know what it will cost in $$.
That is driving his value down.
What is he worth in this situation? I dunno, but would bet less than people think. Which reinforces what Sweeney is doing.
Put the last offer on the table of 8 x 8, take it or not. Call if you change your mind, we have games to play and try and win. Focus on the guys you have. Sit and watch Jeremy, spend some time pondering your future. Less the $8M you would have earned this year.
I would bet Sweeney’s phone rings, sometime around Halloween.
Johnny Z.
Brazeau is almost 27 years old (undrafted )with a total of 19 NHL games under his belt. Hard to see him as anything other than an NHL fringe player. At this stage, more than likely a career AHL player.
For Maccelli? Who is 23, trending upward with 112 points in 169 nhl games. (And only costing 3.43 for the next 2 years)
If this is the price, Drury should be packing Shesterkins bags. Because if Swayman and a fringe NHL’er is getting you that return, I’m positive Shesterkin will bring that in ++++++++
Detroit should offer sheet him at 9.1.
IF they believe he is going to be that good. They have the picks. And he would probably sign it unmatched. Bruins fans would lose their crap now stuck with Korpisalo. Korpi will be better in Boston than he was in Ottawa, but not Ullmark/Swayman better. I still think this gets done at 8m. Maybe just less term.
Cam Neely proving yet again what a lunkhead he really is.
Detroit has no cap space and Cossa in the pipeline, as well as Augustine.
If best offer is 8×8. And Swayman said no let him play in khl. Bruins would still own his rights regardless. That is more then fair offer If Gross said he never had that offer. Which I doubt. He does now and Swayman should say I am signing
Swayman should fire his agent, then call up Don Sweeney and accept the 8 x 8 offer.
For what its worth I was listening to Anthony Stewart on NHL radio yesterday and he was talking about how brutal and demeaning the arbitration process can be, basically that the team tears down everything about you as a player and their personal lives. Swayman went through that last year so maybe some of this in his mind is payback for what the Bruins did to him last year. Who really knows but the resetting the goalie market story makes this scenario a possibility.
Exactly MB4, it’s out there, take it or take the bridge which he previously didn’t want. If he is an elite starter, he has his chance to prove it and get more $. Ball is in his court. B’s need to wait and let him make his decision. We’ll see what he does. If he doesn’t sign, move on and try to win some games without him. Unfortunate, but you can’t force people to do something.
Friedman reported he believes Swayman and his agent are try to “reset the goalie market”. His comments suggest he is. WTF is that about? Dumb.
For comparable tenders, the offer 8 x 8 is more than fair considering what he has actually accomplished, which is a very good tender in a 1A/1B situation. He is not Vasilevskiy, he is not Hellebuyck, they are not the comparables. If you want to be compared to them, prove it, and do this again next season.
I honestly want to see a year without Swayman so Korpi can be the starter and the Bruins can prove everyone’s theory that goalies are only good there because of the system :0)
Yeah, that’ll certainly cause some re-thinking … one way or the other.
I agree 100% with this, the goalie has to stop the puck but it is the defensive system that takes many of the good shots away. Bruins should hang up the phone and let their current goalie tandem work, if by end of Nov their stats are the same as Swayman….well someone is going to be nervous.
theSaint, the comments, that B’s system is responsible for their tenders success, isn’t 100% accurate when talking about last season.
Previously, like a decade, you bet. Last year the B’s gave up plenty of chances. Not terrible, better than average, but not great like their history. They missed Bergeron who was a perennial Selke candidate.
But ya, it usually has a big impact, as save % goes down on high danger chances. Also, more chances overall, more goals. Ullmark had better regular season #’s than Swayman, reversed in the playoffs.
I think the B’s additions in the off season will help get the B’s back to where they were in reducing high quality chances and the quantity of chances overall. Lindholm is a quality defender at C as is Zadorov on D.
We’ll start to find out soon enough.
I think the argument us B’s fans are making isn’t that Swayman hasn’t played well, he has. It’s the cap hit for what he has done in a tandem.
@Ray I agree. My comment stems from all the Sens haters that keep saying Ullmark will by default suck in Ottawa now because the only thing that made him good was the system in Boston.
So if that’s the case… Korpi should get the Vezina this year 😛
That was the debate Saint, and OTT was worse at giving up chances the BOS, but not by a mile. Ott was slightly worse than average, but their goaltending wasn’t very good, to your point. They could use more offense too as were mediocre in that regard as well. Both should improve as their young guys start to enter their prime years.
My hope is the the trend of Korpi being good every 2nd year continues. And I also hoped the tandem with Swayman would help him.
Ray. I don’t know that I’d call their offense mediocre. That they ended up 26th overall is related more to their pathetic pk and overall team defense and inconsistent goaltending.
In terms of the 25 teams that ended up ahead of them. their 255 goals scored were better than Seattle, Calgary, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Minnesota, Washington, St. Louis and NYI, 1 less than L.A., 4 less than Winnipeg, 9 less than NJ, 12 less than Boston and Vegas, and 13 less than the cup champions Florida.
Of the 6 teams back of them, they were ahead of all except Arizona who had 1 more.
They also matched the 255 of Pittsburgh so, in terms of the whole league they were more or less on a par at least – and slightly better – than 21 of the 32 teams.
Seems Sweeney should have kept Ullmark until Swayman was signed. He may have got a lesser return but it has never hurt an NHL team to have two goalies capable of being starters.
Why would the Leafs trade a useful player like Kampf or Jarnkrok to become cap compliant when the easier solution is to waive Reaves.
Jarnkrok is also more versatile than Pacioretty.
For a team thin on RD letting Timmins go via waivers is poor asset management. Does Rifai need to clear waivers to be sent to the AHL?
It’s time to let the kids play…signing Pacioretty isn’t necessary.
Daryl, for anyone to say (me included – Lol) that “it will be interesting to see how Treliving handles the current cap over of $1,069,667 before the season opener” is putting it mildly. Mirtle’s thought that it could be covered for the short term by starting Hakanpaa (knee) and/or Dewar (shoulder) on LTIR to start the season ($1,470,000 and $1.180,000 respectively) flies in the face of expectations for both voiced recently by Berube:
https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/maple-leafs-hoping-jani-hakanpaa-can-participate-in-training-camp-next-week-as-defenseman-recovers-from-knee-injury
But, ok, let’s say the medics decide their injuries are such that they meet the LTIR requirements and one or both go on LTIR – that’s $2,650,000 with which to diddle the cap … at least temporarily until one or both is ready to return.
With the ensuing $1,581,000 cap space available that, at least allows Treliving to offer contracts to Pacioretty and Lorentz (which I think has been the intent all along or they wouldn’t still be in camp) – but even at the minimum of $850,000 each, that still leaves him $119,000 over.
Now Timmins and his $1,100,000 deal comes into play and if he’s dealt he now has $981,000 with which to promote Rifai and his $775,000 ELC, leaving $206,000 in reserve cap.
Even your idea to only waive Reaves and his $1,350,000 cap hit faces the same roadblocks since it’s still contingent upon Pacioretty and Lorentz accepting rock-bottom deals, and the doctors signing off on Hakanpaa’s and Dewar’s inability to answer the bell for 10 games and 24 days.
Sheesh. If Treleving’s head isn’t spinning now, mine sure as Hell is trying to navigate through that quagmire. And some in here continue to think a GM’s job isn’t all that difficult! LOL. They earn their keep.
George, from a Leaf perspective, the glass half full is the competition for spots in the bottom six.
I don’t think Treliving performs any of the mathematical gymnastics. Cap analysts use spreadsheets and applications to identify all the cap compliant scenarios. With input from Berube, Brad will rank the options in terms of preference. IF some of the favored scenarios depend on trades, they may have to resort to the 3rd or 4th best roster.
As you noted, Kampff, Jarmkrok and Reaves are most at risk of being moved. Timmins would probably be picked up should the Leafs attempt to waive him. However, it is interesting that Marshall Rifai, who is in his final contract year, signed a 2 year extension 4 weeks ago @ $775k, no reduced salary for playing in the minors. Toronto’s attempt to waiver proof Marshall.
Good point re Rifai, Hammer_of_the_Gods.
As for Treliving, yeah, with every team having on staff someone who can do the mental computer gymnastics when it comes to moves designed to get the best out of the (often complicated) cap system, he no doubt will base any decisions on what’s laid out in front of him …. and in a manner that a lay person can understand 🙂
But if, over the longer term, the decision – or decisions – turn out to be the wrong ones, it’s he that will catch the media and fan heat, not the figure-filbert.
I totally agree that trying to waive Timmins would not work … if he’s the one they decide would do the least harm to the overall roster structure, they are far better of dealing him for best picks or prospects they can get. And there are more than a few teams with the cap space and D needs that would likely make decent offers.
The only caution I would offer is that, besides Tanev and Liljegren, Timmins is the only RD they have who’d play every night – likely on the 3rd pairing. Hakenpaa is a RD, but there is some legitimate doubt about his availability.
Rifai is a LD.
I highly doubt a team would waist a waver claim on Reaves. I could be wrong here, but from my understanding duo to Reaves age sending him down to the AHL will only clear $900K from the Leafs cap which will still have them over $100k over the cap.
Cam Neely needs to keep it quiet ongoing contract negotiations don’t need to be in the press.. one word on Neely he was the main voice that ran Tyler Seguin out of Boston and that should’ve never happen…
According to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, Swayman’s camp is telling the truth. The $64MM figure referenced by Neely was a slight exaggeration – the highest total value Boston has offered on an eight-year deal is $62.4MM, Seravalli reports. That’s a cap hit of $7.8MM compared to the $8MM implied by Neely.
$7.8AAV is a very good offer! Boston management has moved a ton towards the now reportedly $8.5AAV Swayman wants on an 8 yr deal. C’mon guys settle at $8M AAV and get er done!
I’m not sure how much I trust Seravalli.
Not sure about the .Boston management team especially Neeley! I wonder how much input he really had on the 2015 aborted draft and the signing of Mitchell Miller which the players boycotted!The less he has to do with personnel the better!