Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman is one of the top remaining restricted free agents with the calendar set to flip to September tomorrow. Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald suggests that it’s not time yet for any side to be concerned that a deal isn’t in place. He noted that it took until the eve of training camp for David Pastrnak to sign his post-entry-level contract and it stands to reason that at this point, Swayman’s camp will be looking to use that as a possible pressure point as well. It was recently reported that Swayman was seeking a long-term agreement around the $8.5MM mark while Boston was coming in at a little over $6MM. That’s quite a gap to try to bridge so it wouldn’t be surprising to see this one drag out to the start of camp if not even a little longer than that.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- Still with the Bruins, prospect Jonathan Morello has decided on his new college commitment. After decommitting from Clarkson, PuckPreps reports (Twitter link) that the 18-year-old will play for Boston University when he begins his college career. Morello was a fifth-round pick by Boston back in June, going 154th overall after a solid showing with OJHL St. Michael’s where he had 57 points in 50 games during the regular season while adding 21 more in 11 playoff contests. He will play for USHL Dubuque this season.
- Despite non-tendering Mattias Norlinder earlier this summer, the Canadiens have made an offer to bring the defenseman back, his agent Claes Elefalk told Aftonbladet’s Hans Abrahamsson and Tomas Ros. Norlinder was a third-round pick by Montreal back in 2019 but aside from a six-game NHL stint, he has played exclusively in the minors since coming to North America in the 2021-22 campaign. Last season, the 24-year-old had nine points in 50 games with AHL Laval. Norlinder is believed to have an offer on the table from SHL Modo; he played in their junior system for several years before being drafted. It’s expected that he will make a decision on where to sign next week.
It’d be hilarious if a team like Montreal moved out some money and then offer sheeted Swayman. They could either seriously hurt a division rival cap wise if they match or leave them without two vezina caliber goalies that they ended the season with.
As a Bruins fan I’d be ok with that, get a bunch of picks and have 8m in cap room even if it means Korpi and Bussi (sucks for Marchy since it would essentially be a punted year). Meanwhile I’m interested in seeing how Ullmark does outside of the Bruins system, I’m not saying he’ll return to his Buffalo play but I’m always interested how much of a goalie’s success is the system and the defense in front of him and how much is just their skill.