While the Boston Bruins' Jeremy Swayman remains in the spotlight as an RFA, the Minnesota Wild intend to hang onto their top scorer.
Kirill Kaprizov, Charlie McAvoy and Linus UllmarkThe hockey world continues to await Jeremy Swayman's next move in his contract standoff with the Boston Bruins.
On Monday, Bruins president Cam Neely alluded to his club making a $64-million offer to the Swayman camp, something the goaltender's agent subsequently denied. Both sides are reportedly taking several days as a cooling-off period.
The Hockey News' Michael DeRosa cited Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli reports the Bruins' actual offer to Swayman was slightly less than what Neely hinted at, claiming it was around $62.4 million, or an average annual value of $7.8 million over eight seasons.
The Athletic's Fluto Shinzawa believes the ball is now in Swayman's court. He noted the netminder tends to be thin-skinned, suggesting this could take longer to resolve if the young netminder takes his bosses' recent actions personally.
Shinzawa also mentioned the possibility of a trade but indicated that doesn't necessarily mean it'll happen. He believes the Bruins will set a high asking price for Swayman, plus the acquiring club would still have to sign him.
New Jersey Hockey Now's James Nichols suggests the Devils should look into trading for Swayman, despite their off-season acquisition of Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames. He points to their interest in Yaroslav Askarov before his trade to the Nashville Predators in August.
Askarov, however, is a promising young goalie who would've been affordable to acquire and sign. The cost of acquiring and signing Swayman would be well outside the Devils' comfort zone.
DeRosa suggested the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche and Utah Hockey Club as possible trade destinations for Swayman if the Bruins peddle him.
Turning to the Minnesota Wild, there was speculation last week suggesting the Chicago Blackhawks could be very interested in Kirill Kaprizov if the Minnesota Wild winger becomes available in the 2026 free-agent market.
The Blackhawks won't be the only club opening their chequebooks if the high-scoring Kaprizov hits the open market. However, Wild owner Craig Leipold doesn't intend to let that happen.
Kaprizov can be signed to a contract extension as early as next July. The Hockey News' Dylan Loucks reports Leipold pointed out his club will have more cap space next summer, with the contract buyout cost of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter dropping from a combined $14.7 million to $1.66 million.
Leipold indicated the Wild intends to sign Kaprizov.
“I will tell you that nobody will offer more money than us, or longer,” he said. “So all we have to do is prove to him that we want to win.”
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