Shinzawa: The Bruins-Jeremy Swayman talks have gone sideways. It's just business

BOSTON – Negotiations between Jeremy Swaiman and the Boston Bruins have stopped. On Monday, president Cam Neely said, in a creative way, the team offered $64 million. Lewis Gross, Swayman's agent, responded later Monday that such a proposal was fiction.

“We are extremely disappointed,” Gross posted on Instagram. “It wasn't fair to Jeremy. It will take a few days to discuss where we go from here.”

A solution, it seems, is nowhere in sight.

If Gross went so far as to question Neely's integrity, it's safe to say his client didn't respond well to his boss's announcement. Gross and general manager Don Sweeney don't have a good idea of ​​how to get negotiations back on track. Swayman is not designed to compromise when he feels slighted.

“Continued, consistent communication with his representatives,” Sweeney said, before Neely's $64 million throwdown, on how he would proceed with Gross. “We still have a gap to bridge. We will try to continue it.”

Sweeney and Gross have no choice but to clear the air. The stakes are too high.

It is a fool's errand to determine whether Neely or Sthul is practicing fabrication. This is business, plain and simple. In such cases, the truth is routinely stretched when dollars and years — both high numbers — are discussed.

Then, Neely, CEO Charlie Jacobs and coach Jim Montgomery all reached into the negotiating toolbox to reveal the offer, insisting the Bruins were a cap team and Jonas Korpisalo would be the Game 1 starter. None of it was personal. These were mechanisms, as they may seem, to advance the discussion and strengthen the brand.

Likewise, it was business that Gross fired back and nearly called Neely, the head cheese and Hockey Hall of Famer, a liar. It was such business that Gross announced he would take a few days to regroup, thus signaling a quick return to the negotiating table is not something he wants to do.

Time will determine how this unfolds, and both sides believe that time is on their side.

For the Bruins, the silver lining to the impasse is how it has elevated Corpisalo and Brandon Busey up the organizational ladder. Outside of the No. 1 goalie, Corpisalo and Busey have been critical reps under the watchful eye of goalie coach Bob Essensa during preseason games and practices.

So far, Karpisalo has made the most of the opportunity. He passed two preseason tests.

“Our staff has done a really good job of recognizing the players that have been here. That's where the focus is,” Sweeney said. “Bob Essensa has worked — as I mentioned earlier in camp, he'll work extensively with all of our goaltenders — and he's comfortable with the work that Corpisalo has done.”

At the same time, Swayman will take a while, as Gross noted, in response to the $64 million offer his agent said he never received. With Montgomery already declaring Game 1 off the table, Swayman has little reason to put pen to paper in the days ahead.

That may change.

Employers have options in Korpisalo and Bussi. With the Bruins playing to their strengths in the first segment of the regular season, they can manage without Swaman.

Employees, meanwhile, have none.

If he doesn't sign by mid-October, Swayman will miss his first paycheck. The second will follow at the end of the month.

The 25-year-old is coming off a $3.475 million 2023-24 salary. Not married myself. He has no children. But a young man living in downtown Boston can be happy without an income if he's stashed away cash for a rainy day.

Not only that, but Swayman will miss everything, including his wages: the gameplay, the competition, the company of his teammates. As for the latter, the result of an unofficial player poll following Neely's comments was that Swayman had the room's support — up to a point.

“The only time I could even see it being a little weird,” said one player, who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak freely about teammates and his employer, “if we didn't start well and we felt like maybe he was helping us. “

At the start of camp, Swinney twice mentioned Dec. 1 — the drop-dead date for Swaiman to sign his contract if he wants to play this season.

In such situations, labor always has more to lose than management.

Tensions are rising between the two sides. But Sweeney and Gross will turn down the heat and resume negotiations. Flareups are part of the business. There is much on the line for the disunity to continue.

(Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)