« We’re here right now. I got a plane to catch in an hour, and that’s all I care about, man. »
Jeremy Swayman finally put pen to paper on an eight-year, $66 million contract extension Sunday morning.
It was the end result of a contentious contractual rock fight for all parties involved.
Be it the sour sentiment brought upon by an arbitration hearing last summer, a desire to reset the goalie market, a rising cap ceiling, the trade of Linus Ullmark, or several other factors, little progress was made on a new deal over the summer.
Things finally hit a boiling point last week with the start of regular-season play just a little over a week away.
Hours after Cam Neely suggested the Bruins put a $64 million offer on the table, Swayman’s agent — Lewis Gross — issued a sharp response on social media, declaring that $64 million was not originally presented before Boston’s season-opening press conference.
Amid reports of Swayman pondering a trade request, cooler heads ultimately prevailed before the 25-year-old netminder crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s on his hefty new contract.
Neely drew plenty of headlines with his candid comments last week, but Bruins general manager Don Sweeney opted to keep his cards close to his vest when asked if last week’s events shifted the tenor of contract talks.
“There’s twist turns and such. You hope for a straight and narrow path, but it just doesn’t always work out that way,” Sweeney said Sunday at Warrior Ice Arnea.
