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Around the NHL: Swayman expected at Bruins’ camp, Necas almost left Hurricanes and more
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Photo credit: Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports
Shane Seney
Aug 26, 2024, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 26, 2024, 08:34 EDT
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NHL training camps are on the horizon as we welcome you in for the latest Around the NHL. Players are starting to informally skate together all over the world, as many will be looking to impress during training camp.
The 2024-25 NHL season starts in roughly six weeks, general managers are starting to put their final touches on their rosters and several executives were very busy the past seven days. Here’s the very latest from around the NHL:

Bruins’ Coach confident Swayman will be at training camp

There’s several restricted free agents who are still sitting without a contract for next season including Boston Bruins’ starting netminder Jeremy Swayman. Should Bruins fans be worried? Head coach Jim Montgomery doesn’t think so.
Montgomery told reporters last weekend he feels the Swayman deal is much closer than we think.
“My job is my connection with the players, and how we’re going to be good this year. And I have no doubt Jeremy Swayman will be a Bruin at the start of camp, and we’ll be ready to go,” Montgomery said.
Bruins president Cam Neely also spoke on Swayman’s contract recently and while there’s been some hiccups, Neely is confident a conclusion is close.
“Something will get done. There’s no question,” Neely said. “I mean, not every negotiation is as smooth as you’d like it. I know our fan base would certainly love to have something done by now. But I’m fully confident that both sides will come to an agreement before too long here.”
The Bruins traded Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators and while they landed Joonas Korpisalo in the deal, there’s zero doubt Swayman is the man for the B’s crease next season and beyond. The 25-year-old recorded a 25-10-8 record last season with a .916 save percentage and a 2.53 goals against average.
In 132 career starts, Swayman holds a 79-33-15 record and an impressive .919 career save percentage. He earned $3.48 million last season after signing a one-year extension last summer. Swayman will be looked upon to lead the B’s back to the playoffs and could be in line for a lengthy, lucrative deal.
Swayman holds a 4-2-0 record, along with a .917 save percentage against the Maple Leafs during the regular season and has an identical 4-2-0 record in the playoffs, with a 1.49 goals against average and .950 save percentage. Leafs fans should hold out hope the team can somehow avoid facing Swayman and the Bruins come playoff time.

Martin Necas was 50-50 he was leaving Carolina

Martin Necas was almost in some new threads this summer. The speedy winger admitted recently to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that it was essentially a coin flip on whether or not he’d be back in Carolina.
“(There was) lots of talking between us and Carolina. It was 50-50,” said Necas. “I didn’t have the best season, wasn’t happy. But we turned the page, we figured out a way to stay for two more years … I feel like Carolina is my home. … At the end of the day, I’m happy that I’m back and can prove to people there that I’m better than I was last season. I’m excited, I’m pumped.”
Necas shined some light on his options when it came to leaving the Hurricanes, confirming to Friedman the Winnipeg Jets and Columbus Blue Jackets expressed some serious interest in him throughout the summer.
Necas inked a two-year deal at $6.5 million AAV, this coming after a 2023-24 season where the 25-year-old forward scored 24 goals in 77 games and finished the season with 53 points. There’s been some serious turnover in Carolina so Necas will once again be looked at to be a pillar to their offense.
The Hurricanes are expected to once again push for one of the top spots in the Eastern Conference next season. Carolina hosts Toronto on January 9. While Necas was a player with a ton of trade speculation circling him throughout the summer months, it never appeared to be something the Maple Leafs were closing in on, at least from the outside looking in.

Askarov trade materialized quickly after demands

Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz didn’t waste anytime moving top prospect Yaroslav Askarov after the Russian netminder took his trade request public. Askarov informed the Preds he wanted out as he wasn’t happy he’d be starting the season in the American Hockey League and Trotz shipped the southpaw netminder to the San Jose Sharks in a multi-layered transaction.
Trotz spoke to Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean and admitted he thought the two sides were going to try and work something out at training camp before the request went viral.
“When he asked for the trade request, just privately, he said he would be a good soldier and all that. Then he came out public and said he wouldn’t have much interest in that,” explained Trotz.
“But once it became public, it pushed to a different place in terms of the decision time. Then if you don’t trade him, there’s always going to be noise. We’ve got a really good vibe from what we did last year. I didn’t want there to be something that sucked the air out of that.”
The Predators vibe included exceeding expectations and making the playoffs last season. Trotz rewarded his team by signing big-name free-agents including Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault up front, along with defenseman Brady Skjei. Trotz also extended Juuse Saros for eight more seasons, which may have set off Askarov initially, and then once Trotz signed veteran backup Scott Wedgewood, their relationship started to take a turn.
The Sharks landed Askarov, center Nolan Burke and a 2025 third-round pick for center David Edstrom, goaltender Magnus Chrona and a 2025 first-round pick. Askarov will be given a look at training camp and into preseason action as he’ll have to outplay Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek to win the starter’s crease for the Sharks. The Russian prospect has been lights out the past two seasons at the AHL level and prefers to play in the NHL moving forward. Look for the Sharks to potentially carry three goaltenders to start next season as they looked to navigate a crowded crease at the shark tank.
The Maple Leafs weren’t never a realistic option for landing the 22-year-old Askarov as he wanted to play in NHL games immediately upon joining his new team. With Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll locked into the Leafs’ depth chart the two teams never aligned as prime trade partners —even with reportedly disgruntled winger Nick Robertson, who could have been an appealing option for Trotz and the Predators. Robertson’s name is still circling on the trade market as the restricted free-agent forward sits without a contract for next season.

Offseason Quick Hits

  • The restricted free-agent market continues to be crowded as several players are still waiting on finalized contracts for next season. The list includes the mentioned Swayman in Boston, Seth Jarvis in Carolina, Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider in Detroit, Thomas Harley in Dallas, as well as Robertson in Toronto.
  • According to reports from The Athletic’s Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal, Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko isn’t expected to be ready for training camp and preseason action as he’s dealing with a knee injury. With Arturs Silovs signed for next season the Canucks could be in the goalie market. Drance mentioned Kevin Lankinen as a free-agent option, meanwhile ex-Maple Leaf Martin Jones is also likely in the mix, as he’s from the area and has experience as a third-stringer last season in Toronto.
  • Quinn, Jack and Luke Hughes will be on the cover of EA Sports NHL 2025. This is the first time the iconic video game has published a cover with three brothers together and all things considered, likely the last.
  • Kyle Dubas and the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Rutger McGroarty from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Brayden Yager. McGroarty wanted out of Winnipeg and even though he was committed to play for the University of Michigan next season, flipped script and signed an entry-level deal with the Penguins after the trade. McGroarty wanted out of Winnipeg after he was selected with the 14th pick of the 2022 NHL Draft and informed Jets’ GM Kevin Cheveldayoff that once he put on the Jets’ jersey at development camp, realized it didn’t feel right and he then made it known he’d prefer to be traded. The Maple Leafs were never rumored to be a realistic landing spot for the top prospect.

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