A total of 14 NHL players elected to file for salary arbitration on Friday, but Jeremy Swayman wasn’t one of them.
Whether that’s a good sign that the goalie and the Bruins are close to a deal remains to be seen. Electing not to file keeps Swayman eligible for an offer sheet, though the Bruins could file for arbitration to avoid an offer sheet. The deadline for filing for club-elected arbitration is 5 p.m. on Saturday.
The most recent big deal for a goalie was Juuse Saros’ deal with Nashville, which kicks in a year from now. It was an eight-year deal with an average annual value of $7.74 million. Saros has a longer track record than Swayman and has been more of a workhorse, having played at least 64 games in each of the last three seasons. While he’s expected to take on a bigger load with the departure of Linus Ullmark, the 44 games that Swayman played last season is the highest regular season total of his young career.
But Saros will be 30 when his contract kicks in. Swayman is 25 and the B’s will be buying into his prime seasons. He could well be looking for a better deal than the Saros extension. And having already dealt Ullmark, the B’s must come to an agreement with Swayman.
Swayman went through the arbitration process last year and, like most players, was not a fan of it. His side was going for a $4.8 million salary while the B’s countered with $2 million. The arbitration yielded a $3.475 million salary for the 2023-24 season.
Early last season, Swayman explained his feelings on the process.
“There’s no ill will on the process, because I understand that. I’m not the first player to go through it. I’m not the last,” said Swayman. “But I definitely don’t wish it upon any of my friends and teammates moving forward and I don’t want to do it ever again as well.”
Meanwhile, Swayman is not showing any outward signs he’s planning a getaway from the organization. He was seen earlier this week at Bruins’ Development Camp, chatting with some of the goalie prospects on the bench. And he quickly reached out to his presumptive backup, Joonas Korpisalo, when Korpisalo was obtained in the Ullmark deal.
