Jeremy Swayman thought he was heading for Maple Leafs!

Goaltender Jeremy Swayman is back for another season with the Boston Bruins after he was awarded a one-year, $3.475 million contract in arbitration. Last season in what was a record-breaking year for Boston, he and his teammate Linus Ullmark were the recipients of the William Jennings Award as the goaltending duo to allow the fewest goals in a single year. 

But as Swayman put it, he thought he would be suiting up for a Bruins rival in the Toronto Maple Leafs until they took goaltender Ian Scott instead in the 2017 NHL Draft. 

“The fourth round came and Toronto was up 110 and they picked a goalie,” Swayman said during an appearance on the "Empty Netters" podcast. “It was like ‘Alright, maybe not this year,’ that kind of thing. Kind of bummed but at the same time hopeful still cause I talked to other teams.”

However, he would soon be informed by his agent and a friend that he would be on his way to the Bruins, despite not having seen it for himself from Boston. 

“I get a text and it’s from my buddy actually from Alaska,” Swayman said. “He was at the draft and he said ‘Congrats Sway’ and I’m like ‘What?’”

“My phone starts blowing up and it’s real,” Swayman said. “Finally, I’m like reloading this thing on and on and on and it shows up.”

And while he admitted to being disappointed at first, that down feeling quickly turned to jubilation after being taken by Boston.

“We had a pretty good celebration. It was totally unexpected which is the coolest part I think,” Swayman said. “You’re so devastated for one second and the next second it’s like a new world opens up. That was a pretty cool experience to share with them, and I’m glad it turned out the way it did.”

How strong would it have been to see Swayman start his career in the blue and white of the Leafs instead of the black and yellow of the Bruins? 

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