In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the plot surrounding goaltender Jeremy Swayman continues to thicken. The Boston Bruins hinted he was offered $64 million, but his agent has denied it, and now insiders are revealing the real offer and one is suggesting this could all end in a trade. Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens got devastating news involving the injury status of Patrik Laine and David Reinbacher. Is Darnell Nurse cleared to play for the Edmonton Oilers?
Swayman Drama Continues to Unfold
According to a report on Monday night from NHL insider Elliotte Friedman: “The moment Neely said, ‘I have 64 million reasons why I’d be playing right now,’ speculation was everywhere that Swayman was so annoyed with being thrown under the bus publicly that he might formally ask for a trade.
Friedman writes, “The statement reveals one obvious truth — he is considering it. …Never make life-changing decisions when you’re emotional. How does he feel over the next 24-48 hours? That determines where we go.”
The backstory is that Neely hinted the Bruins offered $64 million. Swayman’s agent, Lewis Gross responded that the Bruins never got that high in any negotiations prior to Neely making the statement to the media. The Swayman camp is “extremely disappointed” and they would take a couple of days to consider their next steps.
According to Daily Faceoff insider Frank Seravalli, the Bruins tabled an eight-year contract to the young netminder, with an AAV of $7.8 million. Obviously, this is not the $64 million Neely mentioned. Seravalli adds:
I think the Swayman camp has been asking for eight [years] x $8.5 million, which is $68 million, and the Bruins were somewhere close to $6.5 [million]. So, the Bruins have gone from $6.5 [million] to $7.8 [million], they feel like they’ve moved a lot…They probably think, “Hey, we’ve moved a ton, now it’s your turn,” and the fact that hasn’t happened apparently has them frustrated.
Where does this all end? That’s a tough question to answer as there will be teams that want to talk to Swayman and if he’s changed his mind on wanting only to stay with the Bruins, he might explore what a move looks like.
Laine and Reinbacher Out Months
President Jeff Gorton said on The Sick Podcast, “I would hope in the next few days we’d have some more information. It’s a little too early to come out with what’s going on.” However, a few reports are surfacing that these injuries are not short-term. In fact, both Patrik Laine and Reinbacher could be out the rest of 2024 and well into 2025.
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Tony Marinaro reports the Laine and Reinbacher injuries are “very serious” and that both will be out “very long-term.” When questioned by fans about speculating on injuries, he said he wasn’t speculating. Steve Kouleas also noted that Laine is going to be out “for at least the rest of the 2024 calendar year.”
Neither one of these reports has been officially confirmed by the team. Still, it seems to be an overriding feeling amongst reporters that these injuries will see the Canadiens play much of the season without either player.
**Update: The Canadiens have announced that Reinbacher underwent surgery to his left knee this morning. His rehabilitation period is expected to be from 5 to 6 months.
Darnell Nurse Medically Cleared for the Edmonton Oilers
Head coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed that defenseman Darnell Nurse is good to go and ready to get into pre-season game action. “He has been cleared, he can play,” Knoblauch said. “He’s been participating in every single drill, and has been physical, he feels well.”
Knoblauch added:
“We have to be cautious putting him in the lineup and overextending him where he’s playing 25 minutes in the first game, 25 minutes the next night. I don’t think that would be good. We’d be cognizant if he played both games, we’d have to make sure his minutes stay lower and not overdo it, or do we just play him in one game. That’s something we’ll decide tomorrow.”
The Oilers, especially Connor McDavid, are eager to get their full roster into a pre-season game so they can get up to speed and see what this version of the team looks like.