Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman was awarded $3.475 million in arbitration for the 2023-24 NHL season, Hockey Night in Canada’s Elliotte Friedman reported Tuesday afternoon.
Swayman and the B’s were reportedly $2.8 million apart ahead of the goalie’s hearing — which took place Sunday — with the Bruins offering $2 million while Swayman requested $4.8 million, per Friedman.
Swayman was previously a goalie on the University of Maine men’s hockey team.
After Trent Frederic avoided arbitration and agreed on a two-year deal with Boston that will pay him $2.3 million per year, PuckPedia projected the Bruins to have $3.1 million in cap space, but noted they “could have more space by going with active roster of less than 23 players.”
Swayman played the final year of his entry-level contract worth $925,000 in the Bruins’ historic 2022-23 season. He finished his best season to date with a 24-6-4 record, .920 save percentage and 2.27 goals-against average behind Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark.
Swayman struggled to begin the year and was pulled in Boston’s 7-5 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 18. He guaranteed he wouldn’t let that happen again, and bounced back nicely with a 28-save performance against the Detroit Red Wings in his next start.
The 24-year-old dealt with a knee injury last year after a net-front collision with Patrice Bergeron. Ullmark essentially carried the load until he returned and was able to play 37 games with 33 starts.
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It’s unclear how Bruins coach Jim Montgomery will utilize his goalies in the new season, but he has two good options between the pipes.
Story by Lauren Campbell, masslive.com
