Three of the Bruins’ restricted free agents elect salary arbitration

Facing a 5 p.m. deadline to file on Wednesday, three of the Bruins' remaining restricted free agents have elected salary arbitration, according to the NHLPA.

In the case of the Bruins, that group of three is headlined by NHL mainstays Trent Frederic and Jeremy Swayman, while new addition Ian Mitchell also elected arbitration after spending the previous three seasons in the Blackhawks organization. The move for an arbitration hearing comes just days after the Bruins extended qualifying offers to all three players, and on a day that saw both Jakub Lauko and Kyle Keyser sign new deals with the club.

In most instances, the decision to file for an arbitration is nothing more than procedural, and it doesn't prevent the sides from continuing to talk in search of common ground on a new contract. In fact, most teams and players prefer not to have it drag out into a full-on arbitration hearing, which can often lead to a messy kind of relationship between the parties with the sides basically forced to tell one another that they're not as good as they think.

One thing it does do, however, is make all three players ineligible to sign an offer sheet this summer, which should put the Bruins at ease. Particularly when it comes to Swayman, though offer sheets seem like complete boogeymen at this point.

Led by a strong second-half surge, the 24-year-old Swayman finished the 2022-23 season with a 24-6-4 record and .920 save percentage. His 24 wins were the 15th-most in hockey, while his .920 ranked fourth among qualifying goaltenders. Swayman’s 11.63 goals saved above average at five-on-five also ranked 13th in the NHL (per NaturalStatTrick), while his .870 high-danger save percentage was tied for the fifth-best figure among the group of 40 goalies with at least 1,500 five-on-five minutes played.

These figures were certainly in line with what's been established as the norm for Swayman, who has been a fixture in the B's crease since his surprise (and successful) jump to the NHL in 2021, with a 52-23-7 record, 2.24 goals against average, and .920 save percentage in 88 games over the last three seasons.

Swayman's cap hit in 2023 and beyond is honestly one of the more fascinating storylines to watch this summer, too.

By all indications, Swayman is due for a significant pay raise that pays him close to what one would consider No. 1 goaltender money by 2023 standards. Two recent figures that stand out as it relates to Swayman and his next contract can be found in Dallas and Florida. In Dallas, the Stars inked 24-year-old goaltender Jake Oettinger to a three-year, $12 million contract ($4 million cap hit) last September following the expiration of his entry-level deal. The Panthers, meanwhile, inked Spencer Knight to a three-year, $13.5 million contract ($4.5 million cap hit) just weeks later. Both goalies are comparable to Swayman in age, numbers, and experience.

Split the difference and Swayman could check in at $4.25 million next season.

The Bruins would (obviously) aim for a lower cap hit, but they have always seen Swayman as long for Boston, and have approached his RFA status with that belief from the jump.

"He's been very consistent about where he wants to play hockey. I don't see why he wouldn't be playing hockey here now and moving forward for a long time," Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said of Swayman's situation with the club. "This is a really good young goaltender. We are excited about having him and Linus. It kind of solidifies, you know, takes away the guesswork of whether or not we have to address another need, that's for darn sure.

"We feel very comfortable and want to take another step. We want to see both of them take another step, that's God's honest truth. Our hockey club, you know, peace of mind for 82 games was pretty darn consistent. And you know what? We just didn't do what we wanted to do and hope to do that in the playoffs. And we have to learn and grow. Jeremy is part of that.”

In the now, the Bruins will aim to get that next Swayman contract as low as possible from an AAV standpoint, especially with Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark on the hook for another two years at $5 million per year. It feels almost certain that the Bruins will aim for a bridge deal for Swayman, and that may indeed be the best play for all involved, as it could Swayman up to truly case in in a couple of years when the NHL salary cap explodes and when Ullmark is officially off the B's books.

Sweeney and the Bruins waited an awfully long time for the breakout they finally got from 2016 first-round pick Trent Frederic this past season.

On the board with 17 goals (and one of just two NHL players to score at least 17 goals in 2022-23 while averaging less than 12 minutes of time on ice per game, with Seattle’s Daniel Sprong being the other), Frederic was a fit wherever the Bruins put him. And the other thing that stuck out about Frederic’s game: Almost everybody he played with was better with him than they were without him. That makes him an interesting case should this reach arbitration. 

Of course, the strongest case working 'against' Frederic in a potential arbitration case is that Frederic’s shooting percentage this year was almost double his career average. So, if you have doubts that he’ll be a regular 17-goal scorer, that'd come up in those conversations. And if you’re the Bruins, you’re essentially weighing whether or not that’s the new norm and that he’s simply found his footing as an NHL player or if this is as good as it’s going to get.

Focusing on any pre-arbitration hearing negotiations, this is another one where the Bruins may aim for a bridge deal until the rest of their cap situation is figured out and to see if they can buy themselves some more time before committing to Frederic on a long-term deal after the best season of his pro career.

It’s certainly possible that Frederic’s camp seeks a long-term deal given the goal-scoring surge he had this past season, and the idea that they wanna cash in while the numbers are strong. Ultimately this feels like the trickiest negotiation the Bruins have on deck for the summer, and one that could come with some give-and-take between the sides, with either a lowered average annual value on a long-term deal or a juiced-up number on a bridge deal. 

And in the case of Mitchell, the decision to elect for salary arbitration comes with Mitchell by all means completely foreign to the Bruins, as the team acquired him from Chicago in last month's Taylor Hall salary dump.

In action for 35 games with Chicago last season, the 5-foot-11 Mitchell established career-highs in assists (seven) and points (eight), while averaging a career-high 15:50 of time on ice.

Overall, the 2017 second-round pick has skated in 82 games for the Blackhawks since 2021, with four goals and 16 points, along with a minus-21 rating and 83 blocks, and 15:04 per night.

Mitchell's fit on the 2023-24 Bruins is something that remains to be seen, too.

At one point looking like a potential lock for the sixth or seventh defenseman spot on the roster, the Bruins went out and acquired AHL standout Reilly Walsh in a trade with the Devils, and added veteran Kevin Shattenkirk on the first day of free agency. Jakub Zboril, who has played the right side, also remains on the Boston roster.

One thing seemingly working in Mitchell's favor when it comes to his potential to make next year's Bruins team? He does have familiarity with B's head coach Jim Montgomery, as Montgomery coached him during his time at the University of Denver, with Mitchell at one point skating as the club's highest-scoring defenseman.