By the time you read this, goaltender Jeremy Swayman could have a new contract with the Boston Bruins or he and Bruins GM Don Sweeney could be settling in for a long standoff. On Wednesday, Sweeney told reporters the 25-year-old RFA wouldn’t report to training camp until a new contract was finalized. He expressed disappointment that a deal couldn’t be struck but remains optimistic they’ll reach an agreement before the 5 p.m. ET deadline on Dec. 1.

If Swayman isn’t signed by then, he’ll be ineligible to play the remainder of this season. Neither side will want that to happen. As Sweeney pointed out, it’ll be detrimental to the goaltender and the Bruins the longer he goes unsigned. Swayman will lose a year of work and wages while the Bruins could struggle without their starting netminder. Swayman completed a one-year, $3.75-million arbitration-awarded contract last summer. His negotiations took an ominous turn in late August when a report claimed he sought an average annual value of $10 million.

On Sept. 6, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman claimed the young goaltender sought $9.5 million. The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa citedSpittin’ Chiclets podcaster Ryan Whitney claiming the Bruins offered $6.2 million on a four-year deal.

Sweeney dismissed a report by Whitney’s partner Paul Bissonnette claiming the Bruins GM wasn’t returning Swayman’s phone calls. “I think it’s bulls— that somebody says I wouldn’t return a call for three weeks,” he said, adding the Bruins were in constant communication with the goalie’s representatives.

Meanwhile, the standoff has already sparked some fan-generated trade speculation.