Bruins Star Goalie Opts Against Arbitration

Jeremy Swayman is still looking for a new long-term deal from the Boston Bruins.

May 14, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) defends his net against the Florida Panthers during the second period in game five of the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Last year, Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman elected salary arbitration and was ultimately awarded a one-year, $3.475 million contract after a long process.

This year, Swayman is going in a different direction. The 25-year-old who is currently a restricted free agent, decided not to elect for salary arbitration this time around. Boston also opted to not take its star netminder to arbitration for the second-straight year, as Saturday's 5 p.m. deadline for filing club-elected arbitration passed with no news out of Beantown.

Swayman said last year that he wasn't too fond of the arbitration process, so it's not much of a surprise that he opted to not go through it again.

"It wasn't a process I wanted to go through. But I understand that it's a business. And in the end, I'm grateful I went through it," Swayman said, per the team's site. "I think the biggest thing was living day by day, understanding that what you hear might not be the truth at all times. ... 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, but I definitely don't wish it upon any of my friends or teammates moving forward, and I don't want to do it ever again, as well.

"I'm grateful I went through it. I'm glad we got it done. I'm a Boston Bruin at the end of the day."

With his performance this season, Swayman is due for a huge raise over the offseason. The Alaska native had a .916 save percentage and 2.53 goals-against average while posting a 25-10-8 record during the regular season. He then followed it up with an exceptional playoff performance, as he had a .933 save percentage and 2.15 goals-against average in 12 starts. It's not a stretch to say he was largely responsible for Boston's seven-game win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round.

Additionally, Swayman is expected to be the Bruins' undisputed top goaltender after they traded Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators.

According to PuckPedia, the Bruins still have over $8.6 million in cap space after an early wave of free agent signings that included Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov. With Swayman being one of the top young goaltenders in the league, he should easily take up the majority of that cap space with his next deal.

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