There’s a reason why the Canadian experienced a painful three-goalie menage last winter. We obviously did not want to lose Cayden Primeau on waivers, the offers for Jake Allen were not up to par, but above all, we did not want to weaken ourselves in contract negotiations with Samuel Montembeault.
He was in the last year of his agreement and would become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. By exchanging Allen too quickly, the Montembeault clan would have had an easy time being greedy in the negotiations, with the young Primeau as the only other option in the medium term.
Montembeault signed on 1er last December a very reasonable three-year contract for 3.15 million annually, a fair sum for a goalkeeper who has not yet proven himself as number one. Allen was traded on March 8 when the New Jersey Devils returned.
The Boston Bruins dismantled their goaltending super duo in late June by trading Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators for a 2024 first-round pick at 25e rank, and a disappointing goalkeeper, Joonas Korpisalo.
However, Jeremy Swayman’s agreement was coming to an end. This 25-year-old goaltender had just had two excellent seasons and had been even more smoldering in the playoffs with a 6-6 record, a 2.15 GAA and a .933 save percentage. This rising NHL star had every right to ask for a significant salary increase.
PHOTO MICHAEL DWYER, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Jeremy Swayman
10 days before the season opener, Swayman is still without a contract. He is obviously not participating in the team’s training camp.
Management went on the counterattack on Monday. Coach Jim Montgomery initially hinted that Korpisalo, a decent goalie on his good days, was going to be the starter in the opener.
Team president Cam Neely then broke an unwritten law by revealing the Bruins’ offer. “I have 64 million reasons to give you why he should be playing right now,” Neely said Monday. A very unsubtle way of stating that the Bruins’ offer was 64 million for eight years.
Swayman’s agent, Lewis Gross, quickly replied on Instagram that this offer was fiction. “We are very disappointed. This is unfair to Jeremy. »
The Bruins have long had a history of managing their payroll very responsibly. In March 2023, they nevertheless offered David Pastrnak 90 million for eight years, an annual salary of 11.25 million. Two years earlier, defender Charlie McAvoy had received 76 million, or 9.5 million per year for eight years.
Center Elias Lindholm, 29, has just been offered 7.75 million per year for seven years despite a disappointing season of 44 points in 75 games. Lindholm nevertheless produced in the playoffs with the Vancouver Canucks with 10 points in 13 games, in addition to being used in delicate missions by his coach Rick Tocchet.
Carey Price remains the highest paid goaltender in the NHL at an annual salary of 10.5 million. He still has two years left on his contract. Sergei Bobrovsky follows closely at 10 million per season. No other goalkeeper reaches 10 million.
Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning earns $9.5 million annually. He signed his contract five years ago. Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets earned $8.5 million per year for seven seasons last year. Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders enters the first year of his contract at 8.2 million per season. This is a good point of comparison with Swayman.
With Neely’s public exit, the Bruins cannot offer less than 64 million for Swayman. If the two clans put their pride aside, there is surely a way to get along quickly…
An important test for Carter Yakemchuk
PHOTO DAN HAMILTON, USA TODAY SPORTS
Carter Yakemchuk (58)
Observing the Ottawa Senators’ lineup ahead of Tuesday night’s game at the Bell Center, we notice a 19-year-old defenseman in the first pairing with Jake Sanderson: Carter Yakemchuk.
Yakemchuk, a 6-foot-4, 207-pound right-hander, is part of this crop of talented defensemen drafted in the top 12 in 2024, in seventh place. He was the second defenseman drafted after Artyom Levshunov second overall by Chicago; followed Zayne Parekh to Calgary (9e), Anton Silayev in New Jersey (10e), Sam Dickinson in San Jose (11e) and Zeev Buium in Minnesota (12e).
Yakemchuk is having an excellent camp. A late in sports jargon, he celebrated his 19th birthday on Monday. He is therefore nine months older than Dickinson, for example, born in June and drafted four ranks after him. An obvious advantage in the short term, at this age. Another solid game Tuesday night could confirm his place in the Senators’ lineup for the start of the season. Yakemchuk had 71 points, including 30 goals, in 66 games last year in Calgary in the Western Junior League.