A golden opportunity emerges for Hughes and the Canadiens to acquire star goaltender Jeremy Swayman
This is one of the hottest topics in the National Hockey League right now, as there's a standoff between star goaltender Jeremy Swayman and the Boston Bruins.
Let's recall some important details of this case:
1- Things really took a turn for the worse between Swayman and the Bruins a few days ago when Cam Neely made their negotiations public, hinting that Swayman had turned down a big $64 million offer from the Bruins.
Swayman's camp responded strongly, stating that this was completely false, dishonest, and that they would need to reconsider their future.
No formal trade request has been made since then, but it's clear that Swayman would be absolutely open to a fresh start, and it seems his relationship with the Bruins is broken.
2- Following this embarrassing episode, we now know (at the very least) that Jeremy Swayman would accept a contract worth between $8.5 and $8.9 million per year over 8 years.
3- Let's also recall that, earlier this summer, the St. Louis Blues submitted two offer sheets to two Edmonton Oilers players, Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway, and many experts claimed that this marked a turning point in NHL history, where making an offer sheet was once frowned upon. (It's now "fair game" to make such offers.)
4- Also, according to the highly reputable Pierre LeBrun, Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton were seriously in the race to try and acquire Yaroslav Askarov from the Nashville Predators.
The Montreal Canadiens are therefore looking to add a young goaltender with elite potential.
An offer sheet for Jeremy Swayman and a perfect replacement for Carey Price?
If we combine all these points and consider that 1) things are going very poorly between Swayman and the Bruins, 2) Swayman would accept a contract of less than $9 million per year, 3) offer sheets now seem to be acceptable in the NHL, and 4) the Montreal Canadiens want to add a young, dominant goaltender, we arrive at the following question:
Should Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton submit an offer sheet to acquire Jeremy Swayman?
At $8.9 million per year, the compensation would be:
- A 1st-round pick
- A 2nd-round pick
- A 3rd-round pick
For Jeremy Swayman, in my opinion, it would absolutely be worth it! The opportunity to acquire such a goaltender does not come around very often.
Additionally, with Swayman in goal, the Montreal Canadiens' 2025 1st-round pick likely wouldn't be in the top 10.
Do you like the idea?
Plus, it would severely hurt the Boston Bruins, as we're talking about one of the top 5 goaltenders in the world and possibly THE best goaltender in the world right now.
One thing is certain: time is running out for them!
