Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman struggled to process the franchise’s trade deadline moves, including that involving former team captain Brad Marchand.
Swayman described the past few days as “devastating” and “a roller-coaster of emotions” when addressing Friday’s action on Saturday, per The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa.
According to Swayman, the Bruins’ front office acted against the wishes of the now-former Boston players traded ahead of the deadline.
“It’s just complete, unexpected stuff,” Swayman said after the Bruins’ 4-0 win over Tampa Bay on Saturday. “I know none of those guys wanted to leave, and they wanted to see it through here.
“We had the ability to see it through here with those guys. That’s just the most devastating part, I think.”
Boston sent shockwaves through the league by trading Marchand to the Florida Panthers, along with longtime teammates Charlie Coyle (to Colorado), Trent Frederic (to Edmonton), and Brandon Carlo (to Toronto).
The moves mark a significant shift for a franchise that had been built around its veteran core for over a decade, following the Stanley Cup victory back in 2011 in Marchand’s sophomore season.
Swayman, now in his fifth season with Boston since debuting in 2020-21, was close with many of the players who were moved and admitted the emotional toll was high.
“I love those guys,” Swayman said. “The fact that we can’t continue to play together, make memories, and push through is devastating.”
Amid the trauma experienced by Swayman and a few other players still wearing the Bruins sweater, general manager Don Sweeney insisted he didn’t pull off any sort of fire sale nor kickstarted a rebuild.
“Did we come in this morning knowing that we were making every one of these moves? No,” Sweeney said. “The message is clearly not about, you know, we didn’t burn it down.”