It has been 17 days since free agency opened for the National Hockey League. The Boston Bruins have had a few subtractions, but they have also made some additions. Then there is the one aspect of the offseason that all eyes have been fixated on: the deal with goaltender Jeremy Swayman.

More accurately, the lack of a deal.

Going into the offseason, it was no secret that locking Swayman down on a longterm deal is exactly what the team needed and it seemed like that both sides were on the same page and they were waiting until July 1 to hit to announce a new deal with the netminder.

That day came and after five days with no announcement, the Bruins and Swayman both announced they would not be going to arbitration.

Is this a cause for concern?

In any other situation, this would be a cause for concern given how high profile of a player Swayman is, but given the cap room that Boston still has to work with and the fact that they have already filled most of the holes they needed to, it’s feasible to think that they are able to match any offer sheet presented to the goalie.

The only situation that presents itself to cause concern, is if the Bruins are blown out of the water and some team offers him a deal worth $10 million-plus.

After all, going into negotiations Swayman went in with an exceptation of $4 million after making just under $3.5 million last season, and Boston countered with $2 million. It’s not likely that Swayman has quite shot himself in the foot by wanting just north of $600,000 more than what he was making in the 2023-24 season.

Something to keep an eye on, however, is if the Bruins attempt to low-ball him again and another team offers him what he is looking, there is a chance he can leave the organization that so coveted him.

What happens if he does leave?

Now the age old question on everyone’s mind is, what if Swayman does leave? Is Boston then screwed in net?

The answer is actually no. Well, at least not in terms of who bodies. In terms of skills, that is something that is hotly debated amongst the media.

The Bruins have two goalies who could very well fit the bill if needed in Joonas Korpisalo and Brandon Bussi, who was recently inked to a two-way deal; however, Korpisalo has never played more than 37 games before last season where he played 55 and Bussi has not played a single game in the NHL.

According to Boston’s goalie development coach Mike Dunham, Bussi is call-up ready and could see him playing in the NHL this year. Conceivably fans could see him at some point this year if the Bruins were to sign Swayman, but when and where is another story.

Long story short here, Boston is likely to sign Swayman unless it is blown out of the water by another team and if they are blown out of the water, they do have a good backup plan in place if he winds up going elsewhere.