Exploring why Jeremy Swayman will earn less than Jake Oettinger despite similar $66M deals

It was an incredibly public standoff between the Boston Bruins and goaltender Jeremy Swayman, a former restricted free agent who had not agreed to a contract for the 2024-25 season; Swayman missed all of training camp and the entire exhibition schedule.

However, the two sides eventually agreed on a new agreement. Swayman signed an eight-year, $88 million deal with an AAV of $8.25 million, making him among the highest-paid goaltenders in the NHL. Only Carey Price ($10.5 million), Sergei Bobrovsky ($10 million), Andrei Vasilevskiy ($9.5 million) and Connor Hellebuyck ($8.5 million) have higher annual salaries.

But now, the Dallas Stars have extended starting goaltender Jake Oettinger to an identical contract, an eight-year extension worth $66 million, with an AAV of $8.25 million.

And while Swayman and Oettinger will earn the same amount on paper, the amount paid out to them will be different. Oettinger will earn slightly more over the lifetime of his deal than Swayman due to the differences in the tax structures of the states of Texas and Massachusetts.

NHL insider Frank Seravalli indicated as much in a recent report on the differences between the two deals.

"Provided that both players remain with same team over eight years, Oettinger will earn $3.3 million more than Swayman over the course of the same contracts due to difference in state income tax. According to @CP_Athlete," Seravalli tweeted.

Seravalli suggested that Oettinger could have used Swayman's new deal as a baseline for his earnings, given his stronger résumé, but noted that he's clearly 'happy' playing for the Stars.

Jeremy Swayman and Jake Oettinger can now focus on hockey

With their contracts settled, Swayman and Oettinger can now focus on stopping pucks for their teams rather than worrying about ongoing or impending negotiations.

Swayman will be hoping he can help lead the Bruins to the same successes that Oettinger has led the Stars (two straight Conference Final appearances in a row) now that his new contract is taken care of.