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Bruins coach Jim Montgomery provides important update on Jeremy Swayman post-$66 million contract deal

Modified Oct 08, 2024 01:03 GMT

While it took far longer than fans had anticipated, the Boston Bruins and goaltender Jeremy Swayman finally bridged their differences and hammered out a contract.

Swayman's new deal is for eight years with a $66 million price tag, meaning he'll carry an AAV of $8.25 million. He's now tied for the fifth-highest AAV among all NHL goalies with Ilya Sorokin, behind Carey Price, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Connor Hellebuyck.

The Bruins had previously indicated that Joonas Korpisalo would get the start between the pipes for Tuesday's regular-season opener against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. However, head coach Jim Montgomery hinted that Swayman could get the start despite having missed all of training camp and the exhibition schedule:

“He’s a potential goalie tomorrow night,” Montgomery said. “We’re undecided.”

The Bruins take on the Panthers Tuesday night starting at 7:00 PM EST at Amerant Bank Arena. Florida will raise their 2024 Stanley Cup championship banner to the rafters beforehand.

Jeremy Swayman is back with the Bruins for eight years

Despite having missed all team activities until Sunday, Jeremy Swayman has been keeping in shape with a personal trainer.

“I feel ready to play,” Swayman said. “I put myself in that position. I have had a great trainer over at BU during this training camp. I feel like I’ve put myself in a really good position to be ready to perform when I get my name called.”

Swayman knows it could be a possibility that he gets the start in Boston's opener but will leave that decision up to the coaching staff.

“I hope so,” he said, with a laugh. “I would love that. It’s up to the coaching staff. I trust them completely. "If they feel like I’m ready, they know I am.”

In the meantime, he is happy to be back with the rest of his teammates and explained that he doesn't take his situation for granted.

“It’s a breath of fresh air,” Swayman said. “And I tell you what, it’s an amazing thing to just understand how many people would do anything to be in the position I am. I don’t take that lightly. I celebrate it every day. I feel like I’m the luckiest human in the world. And again, to be in the position that I am, the gratitude is just pouring from everywhere.

“I know exactly what kind of trust they have in me and the expectations they have of me," he continued. "I have the same, if not more, expectation of myself to perform and let everyone know that they made the right decision.”

Will the Bruins begin their season off on the right foot, and which goaltender gets the start between the pipes?