Swayman Continues To Infulence NHL Goalie Market

Oettinger is perhaps the goalie most comparable to Swayman across the entire NHL.

Both are 25 years old and part of the 2017 draft class. Since then, they have developed into the starting goalies for their respective clubs and are considered to be among the best at their position.

While Oettinger has the advantage in the number of games played over the course of their careers, with 196 to Swayman’s 135, Swayman has had the better stats, holding the edge in goals against average, save percentage, and shutouts.

Oettinger is now the third goalie to have signed an extension with their team since Swayman and the Bruins agreed to a deal.

Three days after Swayman signed his deal, Joey Daccord and the Seattle Kraken agreed to a five-year, $25 million extension. That same day, former Bruins netminder Linus Ullmark inked a four-year deal with the Ottawa Senators, which carries an average annual value equal to that of Swayman’s.

“It’s a goalie union,” said Swayman on Oct. 10. “We all know how hard it is to win games in this league and see guys get rewarded that way. It’s just awesome to see. Those guys work extremely hard and couldn’t be happy for them and their teams.”

Of course, there is the impending Summer of Sheterkin on the horizon, with New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin set to be next offseason’s biggest free-agent prize.

He reportedly already turned down an 11-year, $88 million offer from the Rangers earlier this month and will likely command even more as an unrestricted free agent.

When he does, Shesterkin will, in all likelihood, shatter the current contract standard for goalies.

But until then, Swayman remains the standard bearer.