“We’re not a team that’s done making the roster in October,” Sweeney said in footage from July 1 shown in the team’s documentary “Behind the B.”

As next Tuesday’s season opener approaches, the Bruins still have the salary cap hit Sweeney mentioned: around $8.64 million, according to PuckPedia. Their roster is also less of a finished product than they had hoped.

The standoff between the Bruins and No. 1 goaltender Jeremy Swayman — a restricted free agent without a contract — is one of the hottest topics in hockey, and that was before the Bruins and Swayman’s agent began airing their grievances.

What is he really worth? Will the Bruins really start without him? Will Swayman struggle to find his form once he signs?

“I would say he hasn’t missed anything yet,” said NESN analyst Andrew Raycroft, a former Bruins goaltender. “If he was here in camp, he probably would have played 30 minutes of preseason hockey.”

The Bruins reduced their roster to a practice group on Sunday, a day before team president Cam Neely gave us reason to think about the $64 million question and Swayman’s agent Lewis Gross expressed their camp’s shock and disappointment. Unless Swayman extends, Joonas Korpisalo, Brandon Bussi and Michael DiPietro will form the goalkeeping trio. Montgomery said Monday that Korpisalo would likely begin opening anyway.

Asked whether Swayman would return to form if a deal was reached, Raycroft said: “A lot of it is confidence and his feelings.” They hope it has nothing to do with injury. They hope he doesn’t underestimate how important this part of the year is in preparing for the rest of the year.

“At this point I don’t think anyone is worried about it. But if it’s November 15th and he still doesn’t have a contract, then those are the next questions.”

The Bruins have until December 1st at 5 p.m. to sign Swayman. If he doesn’t sign by then, he won’t be able to play in the NHL this season. Instead of creating additional pressure, Sweeney cited this date – and not, for example, the opening address – as the relevant deadline.

Neely’s comment Monday that Swayman had “64 million reasons” to sign a deal fueled discussion when “status quo” had been the tenor of reports for weeks. Gross’ response – that there was no such offer, that Neely’s words were unfair and “extremely” disappointing, and that he and Swayman would need “a few days to discuss how to move forward” – was not an olive branch.

Sweeney traded Linus Ullmark to Ottawa on June 24, breaking up the NHL’s best goaltending tandem because he couldn’t afford to pay two No. 1 goaltenders. After the season, both Ullmark and Swayman had told the GM that they wanted to play 55 games next season.

Swayman is believed to be seeking an eight-year deal that could be up to $9.5 million per season. That would make him the second-highest paid goalkeeper in the league.

If Swayman, who turns 26 in November, accepts a shorter contract, he could potentially be in line for a longer salary. Assuming the salary cap continues to rise and he plays well, Swayman could watch as a goalie with a thicker resume — the Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin, who is reportedly seeking a $12 million extension — gets paid and then demands a bigger cut .

Swayman and the Bruins agreed to a one-year, $3.475 million contract following arbitration last summer. The process has been unpleasant for the goaltender, who did not opt ​​to take the Bruins to arbitration this summer. He said on the Shut Up Marc podcast in August that he wasn’t afraid to get involved.

“I continued my education. I understand the business side of it all,” Swayman said. “I understand the cap is rising and where it will be years from now. I understand my benchmarks and know that I cannot ruin the goalkeeping market for other players who will later follow in my footsteps.”

The elite district

Swayman played outstandingly for the Bruins in last season’s playoffs, which ended with a six-game second-round loss to the Panthers. He posted a goals-against average of 2.15 and a save percentage of .933 in 12 games, the best numbers of any goaltender with more than six games played.

According to Moneypuck’s shot location data, Swayman should have allowed 38.25 goals, but he allowed 25. His goals-above-expected 13.3 goals in those 12 games were tops among goaltenders, surpassing Shesterkin’s 13.1 (in 16 games) and Jake Oettinger’s 7.3 (in 19). games) and Sergei Bobrovsky’s 7.0 (in 24 Stanley Cup victories).

Swayman has played in 132 games over four seasons, with a 2.34 goals-against average, .919 save percentage and 12 shutouts. He has 20 playoff games with marks of 2.38 and .922.

If the Bruins were to break the bank for Swayman, they would be betting more on his potential than his resume.

Bobrovsky ($10 million average annual value), Andrei Vasilevskiy ($9.5 million) and Connor Hellebuyck ($8.5 million) had won Vezina trophies by the time they earned that much . Ilya Sorokin was the best goaltender outside of the NHL when the Islanders acquired him as a 25-year-old in 2020. He finished second in the 2023 Vezina poll before signing an eight-year AAV extension worth $8.25 million.

These are the four highest AAVs among active goaltenders.

Swayman doesn’t have Juuse Saros’ resume either. The goalkeeper from Nashville, who signed an eight-year contract with an AAV of $7.74 on July 1, is 29 years old. He has led the league in games played over the past three seasons and has finished in the top six in Vezina voting four years in a row.

What seems closer to a comparable contract: Saros’ four-year, $20 million bridge deal was signed when he was 26 years old.

Saros shared the burden with Pekka Rinne. Saros’ numbers in six split-duty seasons: 155 games, 2.50 GAA, .920 save percentage, 14 shutouts. He also played in 17 playoff games, posting a 2.63 GAA and a .914 save percentage – overall, a resume very similar to Swayman’s.

Saros’ AAV of $5 million was 6.1 percent of the cap at signing. Adjusted for a cap hit of $92 million — as the league projects — that same percentage of the pie would put Swayman’s value at $6.63 million per year on a four-year deal.

If Swayman wants an eight-year deal, that’s where things get out of hand. Given that the cap is expected to increase annually, what is the fair value for Swayman?

“I don’t think anyone really knows,” Raycroft said. “The question they are asking themselves is certainly: What is the important question, what is in the middle? This is not yet known at this point. Someone has to get creative.”

The Korpisalo option

The last time the Bruins were able to sign a high-earning goaltender was in the summer of 2013. 25-year-old Tuukka Rask received an eight-year, $56 million contract extension, giving Rinne the highest goaltender pay in the league at $7 million. Rask, arguably the Bruins’ best player leading up to the 2013 Stanley Cup Final, deserved it.

Swayman could be so good. But until one side bends, the Bruins will go with Korpisalo.

“I think he’s Linus Ullmark 2.0,” Raycroft said, referring to the former Saber’s reincarnation as a Bruin. “I think he’s going to be really good. I think he’ll come in here and it’ll be a lot easier.”

In Ottawa last season, the Finn struggled with a weak defense and saw new owners fire the general manager and coach in the first two months of play.

Korpisalo’s best recent work came after a March 2023 trade to Los Angeles. He allowed two goals or fewer in nine of 11 starts, posting just one shutout in the last three seasons. In the first round of the playoffs, he and the Kings pushed Connor McDavid and the Oilers to six games.

The goaltender then signed a five-year, $20 million contract with the Senators and was considered one of the worst goaltenders in the league. According to Moneypuck, he saved minus-16.1 goals above expected, which was 97th out of 98 goalies (Swayman was fourth best, saving 18.4 goals above expected).

Bruins goaltending coach Bob Essensa’s job will be to prepare Korpisalo for the pressure while Swayman is out.

“Bob has his ideas about him,” Raycroft said. “Bob has been watching him since he played in Finland. It will calm him down a little. I don’t know if he’s another Vezina guy, but he’ll be more like LA than Ottawa. He can win 12 of the first 17 or 18 games, no problem.”

The Bruins can only hope if that happens.

Matt Porter can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @mattyports.