The Boston Bruins and Jeremy Swayman needed an arbitration hearing, but the goaltender re-signed on a one-year, $3.475-million contract.
Swayman and the team had a hearing on Sunday, July 30. The Bruins filed for a $2-million contract, while Swayman’s camp sought $4.8 million, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
The 24-year-old from Anchorage, Alaska, finished his entry-level contract this past season, where he had a 24-6-4 record with a .920 save percentage and 2.27 goals-against average in 37 appearances. Swayman was more of a 1B option in net rather than a backup, with Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark playing in 49 games. Both goalies actually started 13 games apiece from Feb. 21 to the end of the regular season. Dating back to Jan. 15, Ullmark and Swayman also had an even 21 appearances apiece despite the former starting 21 games and the latter starting 19.
In the first round of the playoffs, Boston started Swayman in Game 7 against the Florida Panthers after Ullmark allowed a combined 10 goals in two straight losses to Florida. Swayman allowed four goals on 31 shots against but got the team to overtime before conceding the series-ender.
While Ullmark took a lot of the spotlight with his elite performances in net, Swayman still put up strong numbers this past season. His save percentage tied for fourth in the NHL among goalies with at least 30 games played. His goals-against average was third in the league behind Ullmark and Minnesota Wild 1B goalie Filip Gustavsson. His four shutouts tied for fifth, and he even recorded 24 goals saved above expected that ranks eighth among NHL goalies, according to moneypuck.com. That means despite Boston’s strong defense, Swayman still exceeded expectations and stopped 24 more goals than an average goalie would.
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