Anne-Marie Sorvin-Imagn Images
Although we all woke today up to a sky that actually hadn’t fallen in, things did not look good Monday when the Boston Bruins took their contract tiff with goalie Jeremy Swayman public.
Bruins president Cam Neely got things going when he said, “I have 64-million reasons why I’d be playing,” when referring to the stalemate that has kept the RFA out of training camp. It led all of us to believe that the Bruins have offered an eight-year deal worth $8 million per season.
Swayman’s camp maintained they have never been offered that, and insider Frank Seravalli reports that the offer was actually eight years at $7.8 million per year. So clearly, Neely should have actually said, “I have 62.4 million reasons why I’d be playing.”
Anyway, it’s created all kinds of drama and hand-wringing. But I’m old enough to remember when stuff like this would happen all the time, especially at this time of year. The reason why it is so rare is that, because of the NHL’s salary cap, there is so little actual negotiating that goes on anymore.
It gives the NHL cost certainty, and it has indeed driven up franchise values, which are all good things if you own and operate a team. But it has also taken away some of the fun that used to come with the back-and-forth that used to come with a contentious negotiation.
Which is Reason No. 2,372 why the salary cap sucks.
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News Summary:
- Opinion: So The Bruins And Jeremy Swayman Are Having A Spat Over His Contract. Big Whoop
- Check all news and articles from the latest NHL updates.