But when camp officially commenced in Brighton, Swayman was down the street at Boston University\u2019s Agganis Arena to maintain his conditioning. <\/p>\n
With no contract struck between the Bruins and the restricted free agent, Swayman wasn\u2019t a participant during camp as his representatives and the franchise struggled to bridge the gap on a new deal.<\/p>\n
By the time Swayman finally signed an eight-year, $66 million contract on Oct. 6,<\/a> the toll of a contentious contract dispute was evident. <\/p>\n Get Starting Point<\/p>\n A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/p>\n The Bruins finally had their top goalie back in the fold. But both training camp and a full preseason slate had passed them all by. <\/p>\n After speaking with the media upon signing his new contract, Swayman flew to Florida two days before the Bruins\u2019 season opener against the Panthers. <\/p>\n The lack of reps in training camp, combined with the erosion of Boston\u2019s rigid defensive structure in front of him, led to a painful regression in net for Swayman. <\/p>\n After sporting the worst save percentage of his career last winter (.892), Swayman feels as though his full participation in this year\u2019s training camp will offer him a clean slate and allow him to put last year\u2019s struggles behind him. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a completely different human being,\u201d Swayman said Thursday when asked of his mind-set a year removed from last year\u2019s contract strife. \u201cAnd that\u2019s a testament to the experience that I gained throughout my career to this point. And I\u2019m so grateful for that \u2014 the ups and downs of it all. And standing here, Jeremy Swayman is in a great spot, and I\u2019m really excited about that.\u201d <\/p>\n Swayman was one of more than 30 Bruins players and prospects who took the ice for Thursday\u2019s captains practice \u2014 an early precursor to the club\u2019s preseason ramp-up with training camp still a few weeks away.<\/p>\n A lot will fall on Swayman\u2019s shoulders this season if a retooled Bruins roster has any shot of playing meaningful hockey in the spring. <\/p>\n While questions abound about the Bruins\u2019 scoring depth outside of stalwart David Pastrnak, Swayman likely will be tasked with keeping the Bruins off the ropes on nights where they don\u2019t have the means to generate offense. <\/p>\n Last season, the 26-year-old goalie struggled to find a groove \u2014 ranking 63rd out of 73 qualified goalies (minimum of 10 games played) with a minus-9.1 goals saved above expected rate (per MoneyPuck)<\/a>.<\/p>\n Swayman\u2019s decline stood in stark contrast to the poise he displayed over his first four NHL seasons (.919 save percentage from 2020-24). <\/p>\n Swayman said he overhauled his offseason approach in order to steel himself for another year as Boston\u2019s No. 1 netminder. <\/p>\n \u201cEverything,\u201d Swayman said, when asked what he changed this offseason. \u201cIt\u2019s been a great summer for that alone. Just focusing on what I can improve on from my experience. \u2026 I was on the ice a lot. <\/p>\n \u201cAnd that was something I was really looking forward to \u2014 just getting back to the rhythm of things. And right when I got back from [IIHF World Championships], it was pretty much a steady schedule on the ice and really working on my technique, my body, and making sure I\u2019m in a great position, come right now, to be at the top of my game and competing.\u201d <\/p>\n