Bruins sign Jeremy Swayman to 8-year deal

After a lengthy contract negotiation, Jeremy Swayman is sticking around in Boston.

Jeremy Swayman isn’t going anywhere. Michael Dwyer/AP File Photo

Jeremy Swayman is back with the Bruins.

The Bruins announced Sunday that they signed the 25-year-old goalie to an eight-year contract extension worth $8.25 million per season, ending a prolonged negotiation that carried through the summer and beyond.

Swayman’s new contract will keep him in Boston through the 2032 season. Swayman’s pay raise coincides with his expected ascension as Boston’s No. 1 goalie moving forward, especially after the offseason trade of Linus Ullmark.

Swayman is now the fourth-highest-paid active goalie in the NHL, tied with the New York Islanders’ Ilya Sorokin at that $8.25 million annual payout.

Despite multiple reports over the summer that both the Bruins and Swayman’s camp remained in a stalemate over term and annual payout on his new deal, Sunday’s deal found all parties meeting in the middle — with Boston keeping a franchise pillar in place long-term and the University of Maine product netting a sizable pay raise from the $3.475 million cap hit he earned in 2023-24.

Sunday’s news caps off a dramatic week in which team president Cam Neely noted on Monday that he’d have “64 million reasons” to sign if he was the goalie.

Neely’s comments prompted Swayman’s agent, Lewis Gross, to issue a strong retort on social media hours later — stressing that $64 million was not originally presented before Boston’s season-opening presser.

The ensuing drama following Neely and Gross’ comments included a report that Swayman was weighing a trade request — but all parties eventually bridged the gap on a new deal that keeps him in place as Boston’s franchise netminder.

Swayman might be wading into uncharted waters in terms of his workload this season, as his previous career-high in games played is just 44 last season. But the former fourth-round pick stock soared at the end of the 2023-24 season thanks to a strong showing in the postseason.

Despite once again splitting reps with Ullmark during regular-season action, Swayman ended up starting 12 of Boston’s 13 playoff games against Toronto and Florida — sporting a .933 save percentage.

His 13.3 goals saved above expected led all goalies during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs (per MoneyPuck), even though he only appeared in two total rounds.

Despite the extended contract talks, Swayman remained positive throughout the summer about a deal getting done.

“I know that it will take care of itself with time, and all I can do is control how I’m going to be a better goalie for the Boston Bruins this year,” Swayman said last month at the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon. “So, that’s all I’m focused on. And I know, again, it will work out, and I couldn’t be happier to be a Bruin.”

Swayman did harp on the pain of the contentious arbitration hearing that he went through last summer, expressing doubt about his future with Boston during Amazon’s new docuseries, “FACEOFF: Inside the NHL”.

“I mean, I don’t want it to end,” Swayman said on the show. “[This] could be the last time I wear a Bruins jersey. I know I’m going to do everything in my power to be a Bruin for a long time. As a kid growing up in Alaska, this was in my wildest [expletive] dreams.

“I never want it to end. I’m just so grateful that the sun’s going to rise tomorrow and there’s another opportunity to get better.”

Neely’s comments, the ensuing flak directed toward Swayman’s camp, and the lack of any tangible progress in contract talks could further spark the competitive fire that Swayman has embraced in his career.

Swayman is now expected to serve as the anchor of a strong Bruins defense that should be further bolstered by the free-agent addition of Nikita Zadorov and the continued development of Mason Lohrei.

With Swayman now signed long-term, the expectation is for Joonas Korpisalo to serve as Boston’s backup in net. However, Don Sweeney stressed Sunday that Korpisalo is still expected to start Boston’s season opener against the Panthers on Tuesday night.