BOSTON – The Bruins headed to the Sunshine State with some surprise cargo on Sunday afternoon.

After a lengthy negotiation between the Black & Gold and Jeremy Swayman, the netminder was on the team charter to Fort Lauderdale for the club’s season opener against the Panthers, having inked an eight-year contract extension worth an annual cap hit of $8.25 million several hours earlier.

“I couldn’t be more excited to be in this position. I’ve got a plane to catch in an hour,” Swayman said during a press conference at Warrior Ice Arena. “I couldn’t be more happy. It’s funny when you look at the big picture of things…10-15 years ago, I would never believe this would be a reality in my world. A kid from Alaska standing right here in front of you is really happy and beyond pleased to be a Bruin for eight more years.”

Following weeks – if not months – of speculation and conjecture from fans and reporters across social media, the sides came to an agreement with just two days to go before Opening Night. While it was certainly a battle, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said both sides ended up where they wanted to: with No. 1 in a Black & Gold sweater for years to come.

“I think I’ve been pretty consistent in saying that every deal has its own timeline,” said Sweeney. “There’s twists, turns…you hope there will be a straight and narrow path, but it doesn’t always work out that way. You have to be respectful and listen. I think that’s part of this whole exercise of going through negotiations. You have to be willing to listen to what’s important for the other party.

“Ultimately our plan was to negotiate a deal. In a perfect worth, we both agreed the longest deal we could find once we got to common ground was what we were hoping for and that’s where it ended up.

“We had deadlines anyways from the standpoint that we wanted Jeremy in our lineup and he wants to play hockey. Ultimately, he wanted to play for the Boston Bruins and that’s the result. We’re happy to be moving forward.”

Swayman acknowledged that it was difficult to remain optimistic at times throughout the negotiation, but that his end goal was to remain in Boston and help lead the Bruins to a Stanley Cup.

“Through the process there’s a lot of demons that can creep in your head,” he said. “There’s a lot of unknowns and, again, what I knew is that my heart was gonna be in Boston and I was gonna do everything I could – and my team was gonna do everything we could – to stay a Bruin for my whole career. That’s gonna continue. The light was at the end of the tunnel and we knew that we had tools and reason to stay here. Management thought the same thing and that was a really special point where we reached an agreement and we’re both in the same boat of wanting to win Stanley Cups.

“The motivation is a Stanley Cup…that’s all I care about. I can guarantee you that this step and chapter in my career is gonna motivate me above and beyond what I’ve had before. The end goal is to win a Stanley Cup and I believe that this is a group that can do it and have shots at it for many years.

“Every year I’m a part of it I’m going to make sure that’s a reality. Just beyond grateful to be in this position.”

The 25-year-old netminder expressed that he felt an incredible wave of support from the city, its fans, and those closest to him, which helped him remain optimistic during the process.

“To see the amount of people that were just coming out of the woodwork and reaching out to me and my family, just showing support and love, that for me was what mattered most,” said Swayman. “To see the outreach of fans and this city, it really was important to me throughout this entire process. Just showed how much it means to me to be a Boston Bruin.

“That was one thing that stuck with me every day to just stay in the moment, keep my glass half full mentality and a smile on my face and that’s what ultimately brought me to this place.”

Sweeney said that while Swayman is now locked up, fellow netminder Joonas Korpisalo will remain as the Opening Night starter in order to allow for the Alaska native to properly prepare himself after missing all of training camp.

“He’ll be in a good spot to support Joonas for Opening Night and he and [Goalie coach Bob Essensa] will decide when he feels comfortable but it won’t be for lack of effort on his part in preparation to be as ready as he can be a the soonest point,” said Sweeney. “Game reps are game reps. Preseason is there for a reason to go through some regressions but as I said, he works hard, he’ll be ready to go hopefully at the soonest point possible. But him and Goalie Bob will have some work to do. Excited to have him back in the net.”

Swayman, a University of Maine alum, revealed that he spent training camp at Boston University working out with the Terriers on and off the ice to stay in the best shape possible.

“I’m a Black Bear at heart, through and through Black Bear, but I could not have done it without BU and the coaching staff – [head coach] Jay Pandolfo, [assistant coach] Kim Brandvold, [strength coach] Ken Whittier, and [goalie coach] Brian Daccord and all those boys in that locker room,” said Swayman. “I was there every day as soon as camp started. They gave me an oasis to completely escape the outside world. The amount of happiness and support that they provided me, a great training place, to keep my game sharp throughout this entire process. I could not have done it without them.

“Even though I’m a Black Bear through and through, I’m an honorary Terrier. I really hope they feel the love and app reaction for what they did for me. Forever in debt to those guys in that locker room”

The backstop added that he is going to do everything he can to be ready to take the net as quickly as possible.

“Even though I didn’t have as many flow drills and game type scenarios lately, that’s gonna be something that clicks right away,” said Swayman. “As players, we all know it only takes a couple good skates to get back in the rhythm of things. That’s our jobs. My job is to do exactly that. When I start getting my reps, I’m gonna get game ready. I want to be game ready right away. It’s gonna be fun. I want to start every game. I’m excited for that challenge.”

And the challenge to bring a Stanley Cup back to Boston.

“That’s goosebumps,” Swayman said when asked about the chance to represent the city for eight more years. “This city is unmatched. That’s why so many players want to play here. I cannot wait to represent it the right way for eight more years.

“It’s an incredible feeling. That’s all I care about is moving forward and winning for his organization.”