Jeremy Swayman’s agent slams Bruins for $64 million deal for goaltender

The contract dispute between the Boston Bruins and goaltender Jeremy Swayman escalated further Monday following comments from team president Cam Neely during Monday’s season-opening press conference.

Neely hinted that a $64 million contract offer had been extended to Swayman and that he and his camp had not yet agreed to those terms.

“I don’t want to get into the details of his request,” Neely said Monday. “But I know I have 64 million reasons why I would play right now.”

Swayman has weathered training camp as he continues to seek a new deal. His agent hit back at Neely’s remarks in a statement released Monday, in which he categorically denied that the $64 million mentioned was ever offered to his client.

“Normally, I do not issue statements or discuss negotiations in the media. However, in this case, I feel I must defend my client. At today’s press conference, $64 million was “This was the first time this figure was discussed in our negotiations. Before the press conference, no offer had been made reaching this level,” Swayman’s agent, Lewis Gross, wrote on the networks. social.

“We are extremely disappointed. This was not fair to Jeremy. We will take a few days to discuss where we go from here,” he added.

Swayman was expected to take over as the Bruins’ No. 1 goaltender following the offseason trade that saw Linus Ullmark sent to the Ottawa Senators.

As Swayman held out and drifted away from the team, coach Jim Montgomery suggested it would be Joonas Korpisalo – part of the return in the Ullmark trade – in net in the season opener from Boston on October 8.

Swayman, 25, is entering his fifth season in the NHL, after spending his entire career with the Bruins. Last year, he appeared in 44 games and posted a .916 save percentage while allowing an average of 2.53 goals per game.