Jeremy Swayman, Bruins agree to contract; It is rumored to be worth $8.25 million in AAV over 8 years | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

The Boston Bruins have committed to their goaltender of the future.

Jeremy Swayman agreed to an eight-year contract, according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported the deal is worth $8.25 million annually.

Swayman played the 2023-2024 season on a $3.475 million deal reached through arbitration with the Bruins. Both parties rejected the possibility of a new round of arbitration this summer.

The new extension resolves a contract dispute that led to Swayman holding out through the Bruins’ training camp and preseason.

The dispute led to Bruins president Cam Neely and Swayman’s agent Lewis Gross publicly disagreeing over how much the netminder was offered during negotiations.

That conflict has been resolved with a deal that brings back the netminder who led the Bruins to the 2024 second round with an NHL playoff-best save percentage of .933 through 12 games.

Usually part of a tandem with Linus Ullmark, Swayman became the Bruins’ go-to starter this postseason during the first round, capping it off with a 30-save Game 6 performance to eliminate the Toronto Maple Leafs .

Swayman started all but one of the Bruins’ playoff games as the team came within two wins of the Eastern Conference Finals.

That strong performance in the playoffs followed a career-high 25 wins during the regular season, when Swayman posted a .916 save percentage and 2.53 goals against average in 44 appearances in net.

Swayman, a Bruins fourth-round draft pick in 2017, made his NHL debut in April 2021 before teaming up with Ullmark the following season. He has a career .919 percentage and 2.34 goals against average in 132 appearances with 125 starts over four seasons with Boston.

As Boston transitioned from the old guard that led the team to the 2011 Stanley Cup by parting ways with veterans like David Krejčí and Patrice Bergeron, Swayman helped the Bruins remain a perennial postseason team.

He will now serve as a core piece around which Boston will try to build a new championship contender.

The Bruins’ attention will next turn to deciding which goaltender will serve as Swayman’s backup next season, now that Ullmark has been dealt to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Joonas Korpisalo.

Brandon Bussi, who was re-signed to a one-year, two-way contract after making 41 starts for the Providence Bruins last season, could make his NHL debut this season. Meanwhile, Korpisalo is looking to rebound from an .890 save percentage in 55 games for the Senators in 2023-2024. Both could compete for the No. 2 spot behind Swayman this fall.