Andrew Raycroft is just not anxious about Jeremy Swayman's contract

Bruins

Don Sweeney and the Bruins accomplished lots of their offseason tasks in late June and early July: They traded Linus Ullmark to the Senators, used a reacquired first-round pick to sign a promising talent in Dean Letourneau, and used their ample salary cap to sign top targets in free agency, reminiscent of Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov.

But Boston still has one task to finish: signing restricted free agent Jeremy Swayman to a hefty contract extension.

There is predicted to be over $8.6 million in cap space left (according to PuckPedia)The Bruins must have the financial means to sign Swayman to a long-term contract price between $7.5 million and $8 million per 12 months.

Yet Boston and Swayman's camp have still not agreed on a deal nearly per week into August. Should Bruins fans be concerned concerning the radio silence between Swayman and Boston when training camp begins on September 18?

Former Bruins goalie and current NESN analyst Andrew Raycoft is just not sounding the alarm.

“No need to worry. No news, I haven't heard anything.” Raycroft said on WEEI’s “The Skate Pod,” adding: “Everyone is gone. The hockey world – everyone is gone. Since July 7, when the development camp closed the last one in the league, everyone is gone.”

“There's really no reason for fans to worry about a contract until September,” Raycoft said. “September 1st is when you can maybe start thinking about it or even talking about it, and even then they have two weeks to [until training camp begins].”

While Bruins fans can breathe a sigh of relief the sooner Swayman signs his contract, several other restricted free agents in Boston followed a similar timeline when it came to their new contracts.

It took until September 15, 2017 for the Bruins to sign then-RFA David Pastrnak to a new contract (six years, $40 million), ending a summer-long negotiation period that ended shortly before training camp.

Charlie McAvoy was one year away from reaching restricted free agency when he signed an eight-year, $76 million contract on October 15, 2021.

Although Swayman and the Bruins navigated a contentious contract negotiation last offseason that ended in arbitration, that outcome will not happen again this summer.

Unless a team submits an offer, Swayman's options are limited short of signing a new contract with Boston. Both Swayman and the Bruins ultimately agreed not to pursue arbitration this offseason – a positive sign that both parties will eventually agree on terms in the coming weeks.

“Ultimately, it's going to take two phone calls,” Raycroft said. “Jeremy can't really go anywhere. He's got to sign. He's got to play. He's got to make lots of money and the Bruins need to pay him lots of money. I believe ultimately it's going to be a few phone calls, they'll get it worked out and he'll play on opening night.”