How Bruins, Brad Marchand Are Handling Jeremy Swayman Situation

The Bruins and Jeremy Swayman remain without a deal agreed upon heading into the start of October, but the goalie’s teammates are confident he will rejoin the team.

Boston president Cam Neely candidly spoke out about negotiations with Swayman at the Bruins’ start-of-season news conference Monday. A $64 million figure was vocalized, which later was disputed by Swayman’s agent as the Black and Gold prepare to head into the season without their projected starting goalie.

Brad Marchand was scheduled to make his preseason debut Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers, and the Bruins captain’s confidence didn’t waver on Swayman’s negotiations with the team.

“I wouldn’t say it’s hard to keep it out of the room,” Marchand told reporters, per Tom Calautti of Black N’ Gold Productions LLC. “Even today and after, there’s not a whole lot to talk about. We understand the situation the team and Sway are in. This is part of the game. It’s part of the business. It’s the part that nobody enjoys. Eventually, the deal is going to get done and everyone’s gonna move on and be fine.

“These things are the stress and pressure of negotiations going on. When you’re dealing with a term deal, once it’s signed, there’s so much weight that gets lifted off, not just the player’s shoulder but the team. Then it’s just about coming together and finding a way to win and building toward that goal. It’s tough because we all care about Sway. We want to see him back. But again, it’s part of the business. Sometimes guys go through it; every player goes through it at some point. To the extent in which it gets dragged on is always different, but everybody always goes through negotiations. They’re never fun. It’ll be over, and we’ll move on.”

Head coach Jim Montgomery confirmed Monday that Joonas Korpisalo will start the season opener next week. Swayman has until Dec. 1 for any contract signed to be valid for this season, and his teammates will remain patient for that to happen.