Bruins' Jeremy Swayman Must Be Pursued By Utah if Available amid NHL Trade Rumors

The ongoing contract standoff between the Boston Bruins and goalie Jeremy Swayman continues to be one of the biggest storylines of the NHL preseason. One team that should be tracking how everything unfolds is the Utah Hockey Club.

Swayman, who went 21-10 with a 91.6 save percentage last season, is a restricted free agent. The Bruins reportedly want to keep him, but the two sides remain at odds over his market value.

According to Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli, the difference hovers somewhere around $700,000 per season.

"My understanding is that the Bruins have offered eight years times $7.8 million, which is $62.4 [million]," Seravalli told Morning Cuppa Hockey. "...I think the Swayman camp has been asking for something in the neighborhood of eight times $8.5 million,"

Of course, Bruins president of hockey operations Cam Neely has made a different figure public in recent days, suggesting Boston's offer is actually in the $8 million-per-year range.

While Neely's figure is closer to Swayman's reported ask, there's still a gap. With the start of the regular season inching closer, there's a chance Boston simply decides to make the contract standoff another team's issue and places him on the trade block.

According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, that's a bridge Boston isn't willing to cross. Yet.

"Two weeks ago, I started to hear rumours of a possible trade," Friedman wrote on September 30. "The Bruins wouldn't comment, but it was clear they told teams they weren't considering it and wanted to keep him."

However, Neely's statement complicates things. His $64 million suggestion is a number that, according to Swayman's camp, hadn't previously been offered. Swayman's agent, Lewis Gross, issued a statement on social media stating that there would be a pause on negotiation.

"We will take a few days to discuss where we go from here," Gross said.

If Swayman comes back with a trade request or issues a hard-line stance that Boston isn't willing to meet, a trade, while still unlikely, could occur. And if the 25-year-old is available, Utah should be extremely interested.

The Hockey Club is an expansion team, by definition. However, most of the hockey operation, including players, was transferred to franchise owner Ryan Smith from the Arizona Coyotes.

Smith and general manager Bill Armstrong put a lot of work into retooling the roster during the offseason. Ian Cole and Kevin Stenlund were signed on the first day of free agency, while Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino were among the team's other additions.

It's clear that the Hockey Club is looking to distance itself from the Coyotes—and their four-year playoff drought.

Offensively, this was a middle-of-the-pack team last season (17th in goals scored). Defensively, it was bad (274 goals against). Theoretically, Swayman could be the final piece to a defense that, on paper, already appears much improved.

Utah is set to roll with the goalie tandem of Connor Ingram and Karel Vejmelka. While Ingram (90.7 save percentage last season) is far from a liability, Swayman would be a clear upgrade over Vejmelka.

Boston's asking price would most likely be high, but The Hockey Club is one of the few teams that, in theory, could afford Swayman's desired contract—assuming the $8.5 million figure is accurate. Utah still has $9.9 million in available cap space, fifth-most in the league.

The unknown is whether Smith, Armstrong and head coach André Tourigny would be eager to make such a move. There would be a high cost, and there would undoubtedly be competition on the trade market.

However, there's no doubting Swayman is young, talented and capable of being a franchise's No. 1 net option for the foreseeable future. Pursuing him would be exactly the sort of bold move that shows fans Utah is serious about winning.