Boston easily declines.

Welcome to Cap Friendly. Hawks aren't trading away a 1st and a 2nd for a goalie. Kaner isn't coming back and Megna probably isn't either.

Idk. BOS fans like @Gofnut999 will say that BOS declines, but when it comes to goalie trades, this is actually a massive return. That said, I think BOS would be more inclined to keep the younger goalie, Swayman, and shop Ullmark for a trade, if they need the cap or roster space.

Also, CHI probably won't target a goalie for at least a few more years. They'll want to see what they already have in the pipeline and probably give Soderblom more time to either sink or swim. Save Commesso as the "next step", and then figure out if they need to look outward for a goalie when they come into a window of contention, which is still at least a few years away.

I find cap friendly tends to use cap related deals and mediocre goalie trades as some sort of baseline for goalie trades.

The one comparable to Swayman being traded at his age and production is Schneider to NU and that only happened because Luongo had 9 years left at what would be a notch under $9M using today’s cap.

Does the price you paid for Taylor Hall mean any top 6 forward can be picked up for AHL+ players? Because almost any cheap goalie trade fits that same parameter. Cap dump and age.

Not only does Boston say no, it’s not even worthy of bringing it to the leadership team to discuss

Boston 100% declines, Not even close or Jeremy Swayman.

Patrick Kane wants another cup, And sorry Chicago isn't there yet.

Nazar and a 1st because Boston isn’t trading him

Cool story.

I would understand why Boston would want more quality than the quality in this proposal (namely a much higher 1st) to move Swayman, but I see Ullmark being the golaie they move if they move one. Likewise, the Hawks are not trading that much for a goalie at this point. Hawks have a number of internal prospects that they will sort through as they get closer to actually turning the corner where a better goalie will make any difference (which is still a couple of seasons off...if not more).

Boston declines because it does not make the team better.

A late 1st two years from now and a pick outside the top 50 in a weak draft is a not going to get them to move Swayman. They will just keep him.

Worse goalies and rental goalies have gone for more. So I would not call this a massive return.

I appreciate the more concise and level headed response than the other guy.

But, you would have to go back to 2016 to find a trade similar to this. Which was Freddy Andersen, who had been just as good, if not better, to TOR for a late 1st and a late 2nd. That was considered an absolute haul at the time. Then Lehner + David Legwand went for a late-ish 1st round pick in 2015, but Legwand was the main piece of that trade. Ryan Miller got a pretty nice return, but he was also packaged with Steve Ott who was a valuable role player with scoring ability at the time.

So, essentially, any trades that were as valuable or "better", included other pieces and/or were comparable goalies in similar situations. And that was a long time ago, too. So, I'm sure the market has changed to some degree. But I had to sift through a million goalie trades just to see anything comparable. There were lots of pretty good goalies that went for next to nothing through the years, though, and none were really better than what this proposal offers. Goalies just don't tend to go for crazy amounts, and those that may or may not be worth a crazy amount are rarely traded. Teams tend to hang onto the younger ones and only move them when they are predicted to be on their way out, in their mid 30's generally.

We got a 1st and Kuraly for Martin Jones RFA rights the last time we traded a goalie of value.

Tomas Vokoun got a 1st, 2nd conditional 2nd.

Corey Schnieder got the 9th overall pick.

The last significant goalie traded was Kuemper who got a 1st/Timmins conditional pick as a pure rental.

Just a few examples.

Considering Swayman’s age and play i’d expect more than late 1st late 2nd. It is not worth trading him if they don’t get more and they have no need to move him.

Would be different if they had to move him.

If he received an offer sheet in range of his expected next contract the compensation would be 1st/2nd/3rd. Boston would match and not take the compensation. If they would not take that they are not taking a similar value trade. It would take an OS the next step up. 8.5+ with compensation of 2 1sts, 2nd, 3rd for them to not match.

I expect if they trade Swayman it is going to take a good young player under 25 coming back. Not necessarily 1 for 1. Likely a package of some sort. Mercer or Zegras come to mind quickly. Or it will take a pick in the upper half of the 1st and second piece. If not there is no interest in moving him.


I agree with the notion Chicago is not likely the team. Commesso there and fits the timeline. But if they decided to mitigate the risk. Oliver Moore or Frank Nazar would be the primary piece for Boston. Anything less Boston walks away,

All of those trades happened a LONG time ago, and most of them did not work out well at all. Teams now are wary of trading a lot for goaltenders because of those trades. Goalies are a difficult specimen, a lot of their success can be attributed to the team playing in front of them, coaching and training, culture, confidence, mental health, etc. I'm sure if Mrazek had BOS's roster in front of him, his numbers would look just as good if not better.

Either way, I don't know why I am spending any time talking about this, because I don't think CHI should even consider trading for a goalie any time soon. If/when it becomes time to look at G's, Swayman will be significantly older and there will be a whole new crop of G's to consider.

High end goalies are rarely traded in their prime. You have to span a a couple decades to find a cross section.

Jones was in 2016 i don’t classify that as a LONG time ago. Kuemper was last year.

Yes GMs are starting to properly place more value on their 1sts. True. Yet every year they continue to piss them away for rentals at the deadline. I personally don’t believe in trading top 20 picks unless i’m getting an established long term asset in return. Luckily Swayman is that. 🤷🏻‍♂️

I also agree goalies are fickle, streaky, hot one minute/year cold the next and a product of their environment. No question. Which makes trading for one risky. It also makes relying on the development of one risky as well. You see late round picks and undrafted goalies having success far more than any other position.

It is a weird position. The hardest to play and most important, yet the easiest to put up good numbers without being elite as well. As evidence by journeyman and EBUGs having success. Which leads GMs to often skimp/get by at the position. Yet very few teams have been successful without high end goalies either. It’s a balancing act.

Yeah. High end goalies are rarely traded in their prime. Which was why I suggested that BOS would be more likely to keep Swayman and shop Ullmark, if they need the cap space, that is.

Jones was in 2015, Kuemper was three years ago in 2021, both returned late 1st round picks, and only Kuemper really worked out, but COL didn't even re-sign Kuemper and he hasn't really played well since that year, either. I guess I consider it a long time just because of how much the trade market has fluctuated, and how advanced the scouting and valuation process has become just in the last few years. GM's seem a lot more hesitant these days to spend assets and dollars.

And yeah, definitely a weird position, and heady too. The tiniest thing can throw a goalie off their game, and the wrong systems or culture can make a goalie look like a scrub. It's gotta be tough to navigate for front offices and coaching/training staffs.

Idk, though. Maybe BOS could get a really nice package for him if they decide to shop him. We'll see, I guess. I just doubt they shop him, unless they are planning on doing a down to the studs rebuild, which I also doubt BOS does.