Jeremy Swayman Should Undoubtedly Be Pursued in Devils Trade

This is certainly going to be a hot button topic that you could apply to nearly half of the NHL, if not more. However, when the Boston Bruins and Jeremy Swayman’s camp exchanged blows publicly on Monday, it perhaps changed the landscape of their negotiations for good. As a result, general manager Tom Fitzgerald should pursue the 25-year-old goaltender in a New Jersey Devils trade.

Now, this could all change with one phone call and the topic at hand could quickly become moot. But…

Swayman has yet to report to the Bruins. The restricted free-agent has not signed a contract and, as a result, negotiations are getting messy.

On Monday, members of the Bruins media asked for an update on Swayman’s contract status. That was when Boston’s President of Hockey Operations, Cam Neely, decided to take things public.

“I don’t want to get into the weeds with what his ask is, but I know that I have 64 million reasons why I’d be playing right now,” said Neely at TD Garden. “What his ask is and what we believe his comparison group is, they’re two different things.”

$64 million dollars is a decent chunk of change.

Yet, according to Swayman’s agent, Lewis Gross, that amount of money is seemingly news to the Swayman camp.

“I feel the need to defend my client,” Swayman’s agent, Lewis Gross, wrote in a statement posted to social media on Monday evening. “At today’s press conference, $64 million was referenced. This was the first time that number was discussed in our negotiations. Prior to the press conference, no offer was made reaching that level.”

Word before the public exchange was that Swayman, despite the contract dispute, wanted to remain in Boston. But now? Only Swayman can say for sure, but it’s not unreasonable to think he feels spurned.

This leads us back to the Devils.

If Fitzgerald was serious about acquiring former Nashville Predators, current San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov — which was after he acquired Jacob Markstrom, then he should undoubtedly be serious about trading for Swayman as well.

By no means will it be an easy trade to pull off.

By the sound of it via Swayman’s agent, perhaps an eight-year, $8 million average annual value — or something relatively close — would be something Swayman agrees to.

Still, the Bruins don’t have to trade their franchise goaltender, trade request or not.

Therefore, it’s going to cost the Devils a pretty penny to acquire Swayman, who needs a contract and holds a ton of value.

So what would a Devils trade look like with the Bruins?

The Devils would need to unload some serious money. Not sure if they can get out of Ondrej Palat’s contract, but he’d be the first attempt. Then?

Attach anything of value that you can.

Anton Silayev? Send him. Seamus Casey? Trade him.

Dare we say, Simon Nemec?

Of course, not all of these pieces would be part of one offer. Mix and match to find fair value.

But think about it. If the Devils wanted to solve their goaltending indefinitely, Swayman is the answer. Fitzgerald has done a great job with stockpiling his blue line, that the Devils can withstand trading Nemec if they keep Casey to slide in his place while upgrading in net. And Swayman would essentially negate the cost of Nemec’s future extension.

So what about Markstrom?

Well, what about him? Markstrom has a contract for the next two seasons, is nearing 35 years old, and would actually benefit from playing fewer minutes. As for Swayman, he clearly has no issue working in tandem as he did with Linus Ullmark. Then in two seasons, Swayman can take the reins as the team’s No.1 goaltender.

Sorry Jake Allen, but this is a business decision and the Devils could use the little bit of cap space you cost. Perhaps a team like the Colorado Avalanche — who are starved for a 1B/backup with Alexander Georgiev — are an option for Allen.

Swayman is not just a player you add to your roster. He’d immediately become a core piece and grow with Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Co. And as a result, the Devils automatically become a perennial contender.

However he needs to make it happen, Fitzgerald absolutely should pursue Swayman in a Devils trade.

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