For the first time in his eight years and change on the job, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney needed arbitration to decide the next salary for one of his team’s restricted free agents.
Unable to come to terms on a new deal with goaltender Jeremy Swayman since the end of the playoffs, a third-party arbitrator heard from both parties Sunday, and formally awarded Swayman a $3.475 million salary for his next contract.
Swayman’s $3.475 million award comes after the Bruins filed at $2 million while Swayman’s camp filed at $4.9 million.
Apr 16, 2021; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy (73) and goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) react after defeating the New York Islanders at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)
A fast-riser in the organization since leaving the University of Maine for the pro game, Swayman has been everything the Bruins could’ve hoped for as a young goaltender breaking into the league, with a 54-23-7 record and .920 save percentage in 88 games over the last three seasons.
The Alaskan-born netminder also finished as the goalie for the All-Rookie Team in 2021-22, and finished fifth in the Calder Trophy voting.
Swayman has also appeared in eight playoff games in his career, with three wins and a .901 save percentage.
Apr 9, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) during introductions against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. (Eric Hartline/USA TODAY Sports)
Swayman’s award came just hours after the Bruins avoided arbitration with Trent Frederic (and just hours before Frederic’s hearing with a third-party arbitrator) by way of a two-year, $4.6 million contract.
Their contracts push the Bruins over the limit in terms of cap space, but that is alleviated assuming that the Bruins do not run with a full, 23-man roster for the 2023-24 season. Should the Bruins roll with a roster complexion that features just one extra forward and one extra defenseman, the Bruins will have enough cap space to be cap compliant by the start of the 2023-24 season without having to make an extra trade or move.
Assuming Bruins run with 13F-7D-2G lineup (I have Boqvist, Zboril as scratches, Mitchell waived down to PVD), this leaves them with just under $417K in cap space. https://t.co/wPB71C9GVM
— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) August 1, 2023(In this scenario, defenseman Ian Mitchell and forward Jayson Megna are likely waived down to Providence to create the cap room the Bruins need to get in under their bonus-wrecked ceiling. But trying to build a lineup on Aug. 1 is certainly a waste of time by almost all measurements. This is merely how it looks from a salary cap perspective.)
Mar 26, 2023; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Bruins goaltenders Jeremy Swayman (1) and Linus Ullmark (35) celebrate their victory against the Carolina Hurricanes in the shootout at PNC Arena. (James Guillory/USA TODAY Sports)
One thing that does appear to be for sure is the Bruins’ decision to roll with the league’s top goaltending tandem from a year ago, with Swayman and Ullmark looking set for another run as Boston’s one-two punch in net.
It’s certainly a bit more expensive than it was its first two years of deployment, with their combined cap hit of $8.475 million makes them the eighth-most expensive tandem in the NHL for the 2023-24 season.
In a bit of an interesting wrinkle, the Bruins opted for one year of Swayman at this number, though they had the option to sign Swayman to a two-year deal.
With Swayman’s arbitration hearing taken care of, a second buyout window will open for the Bruins in three days, and will last 48 hours. But any player bought out by the Bruins will have to make at least $4 million in 2023-24, making it an unlikely avenue explored by the team.
