Former University of Maine All-American goalie Jeremy Swayman filed for salary arbitration with the Boston Bruins.
Swayman, who joined Vezina Trophy-winner Linus Ullmark to win the William M. Jennings Trophy for the fewest goals allowed in the NHL during the regular season, recently finished up his three-year, $3.1 million rookie contract.
The Bruins allowed 168 goals with Ullmark surrendering 91, Swayman 76 and Keith Kincaid giving up one in his only start.
The Bruins were required to make Swayman a minimum qualifying offer of $874,125 to retain his rights. The team made him an undisclosed offer, but Swayman and his agent, Lewis Gross, rejected it and filed for arbitration.
His arbitration hearing will take place on July 30. Swayman can continue to negotiate with the Bruins and work out a deal and avoid arbitration. Other teams can also submit offers to Swayman.
At an arbitration hearing, the player and the team present their cases for their contract offer and an arbitrator rules in favor of one or the other.
The 24-year-old Swayman was 24-6-4 with 2.27 goals-against, a .920 save percentage and four shutouts during the regular season. He had the NHL’s fourth-best goals-against average and fifth-best save percentage. He missed a month with a lower body injury.
Ullmark was 40-6-1 and had the league’s best GAA (1.89) and save percentage (.938). His 40 wins tied him with Colorado’s Alexandar Georgiev for the league high. He had two shutouts.
It is the first time in the history of the NHL that goalies on the same team had at least 40 and 20 wins.
The 29-year-old Ullmark just completed the second year of his four-year, $20 million contract.
Ullmark had a 3.33 GAA and an .896 showing in six playoff games while Swayman had a 3.34 GAA and a .875 save percentage over 72 minutes, including his start in the 4-3 overtime loss to Florida Panthers in game seven of the first-round series.
The Boston Bruins entered the playoffs as the favorites after setting the league record for the most wins and points in a single regular season. The team blew a 3-1 series lead in its first-round elimination.
Swayman has a career regular season record of 54-23-7 with a 2.23 GAA, a .920 GAA and nine shutouts.
In the 2019–20 season, his final season at UMaine, the Anchorage, Alaska, native won the Mike Richter Award given to the nation’s best goaltender. He was also the Hockey East Player of the Year and was one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award given to the nation’s best player.
He was 18-10-5 with a 2.07 GAA and .939 save percentage.
The 6-foot-3, 194-pound Swayman had been drafted in the fourth round by the Bruins in 2017 and signed with the team after his junior season at UMaine.
Swayman is one of three Bruins who filed for salary arbitration, along with forward Trent Frederic and recently acquired defenseman Ian Mitchell. The Bruins avoided salary arbitration with Mitchell by signing him to a one-year deal worth $775,000 on Monday. Frederic’s hearing is slated for Aug. 1.
