The arbitration process between the Boston Bruins and goaltender Jeremy Swayman recently came to a conclusion, and Swayman is hoping that it will be the last time he goes through the process.
An arbiter ruled that the restricted free agent was entitled to a contract worth $3.475 million. The Bruins requested a salary of $2 million, while Swayman was seeking $4.8 million.
While Swayman is back in Boston, he doesn’t want to go through arbitration again.
“I think the biggest thing is living day by day, understanding that what you hear might not be the truth at all times, and again, it’s a business,” Swayman said via Boston.com. “I wanted to make sure that whatever was thrown my way, I was going to be able to attack with a good mindset and make sure that at the end of the day, I was doing everything I could to be a Boston Bruin.
“Now I’m here today, and I am a Boston Bruin — I couldn’t be happier. 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 and teammates moving forward, and I don’t want to do it ever again as well. So grateful I went through it. Glad I got it done. I’m a Boston Bruin at the end of the day.”
Swayman will be coming back to Boston looking to build off yet another impressive season. He went 24-6-4 and boasted a .920 save percentage and 2.27 goals against average in the 2022-23 season. Swayman, along with Linus Ullmark, created the best goaltending duo in the entire league and will be hoping for more of the same in the 2023-24 season.
The duo is quite unique in terms of Boston truly utilizing both goaltenders. Most teams opt for a singular starter with the backup occasionally filling in, but the Bruins have two top-tier goaltenders.
Swayman touched upon the relationship with Ullmark and stated that nothing separates them.
“There’s nothing separating that guy and I, so that’s going be something I’m really excited about. Really looking forward to being back in action with him again,” Swayman stated via NHL.com. “[The hug’s] one of the most incredible things I’ve ever experienced. It is. And that doesn’t happen without Boston’s fan base; I truly believe that. And it’s definitely grown around the entire community of hockey worldwide now, which is insane to think about.
“But that’s something that will never be replicated again. That’s something that we’ve created together, and no matter what, we look forward to that every year. It’s more than just the show… it’s truly internal, and we love each other we understand how hard it is to win games in this league. To see the endless support that these fans have given us is something that is going to give us motivation through anything that comes our way.”
So while Swayman is happy to be back in Boston, expect him to look to find a contract solution outside of arbitration moving forward. It can be a disheartening and deteriorating experience for some players, and that seems to be the case for the goaltender.
