The Boston Bruins will open training camp without their top goalie.
Jeremy Swayman, who is unsigned, will not be on the ice for Thursday's first session, GM Don Sweeney told reporters on Wednesday, per Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic.
Swayman is a restricted free agent. Sweeney added he is optimistic they will agree to terms by the Dec. 1 deadline to have Swayman eligible to play this season.
The Bruins GM was not pleased with a report from the Spittin Chiclets Podcast saying the team hadn't returned Swayman's calls.
“If you have knowledge of it that we haven’t offered an eight-year deal, or we aren’t willing to compromise, we haven’t moved on things. At the end of the day, I’m not talking about specifics, you are just not going to get it. I did reference one, matter of fact. I think it’s (explicit) someone says I wouldn’t return a call for three weeks,” Sweeney told reporters.
“That’s inaccurate. Was it said? Was it written? I will tell you, I don’t listen to podcasts. My son loves ‘Biz,’ (Paul Bissonnette) thinks he’s fabulous. I think he’s a great entertainer. But at the end of the day, it’s inaccurate. And that’s okay because that’s all part of the business nowadays. It’s okay if you turn around and say it’s your opinion, your belief, but don’t report it as fact. That’s all. That’s all I’m asking,” Sweeney added.
The goalie and the Bruins went to arbitration last off-season and Swayman was granted a one-year, $3.475 million contract. Though both parties could've gone into arbitration again this year, Swayman elected not to.
The Bruins traded goalie Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators in the off-season, making Swayman the clear No. 1.
Joonas Korpisalo, Michael DiPietro and Brandon Bussi are the other goalies on Boston's roster.
Swayman was solid last season and took the No. 1 spot between the pipes from Ullmark by the time the playoffs rolled around.
The 25-year-old from Anchorage, Alaska, finished the season with a 25-10-8 record, a .916 save percentage and 2.53 GAA. In the post-season, he finished with a 6-6 record, 9.33 save percentage and 2.15 GAA.
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