It took a few months, but Jeremy Swayman finally has a new contract with the Boston Bruins.
After the B's and Swayman couldn't decide on a new deal, the process went to arbitration, where an independent arbiter settled on a one-year, $3.475 million contract for the 24-year old goalie. This figure was just about halfway between the numbers each side was seeking in arbitration.
Arbitration can sometimes be a really difficult process for both sides. In a press conference Tuesday, Swayman made it clear there are no hard feelings, but he absolutely doesn't want to go through it again.
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"The biggest thing was living day by day and understanding what you hear might not be the truth at all times," Swayman said of the process. "It's a business, and 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 I was doing everything I could do to be a Boston Bruin. Now that I'm here and a Boston Bruin, I couldn't be happier.
"There's no ill will on the process because I understand I'm not the first player to go through (arbitration) and not the last. But I definitely don't wish it on any of my friends or teammates, and I don't want to do it ever again. I'm grateful I went through it and glad we got it done, and I'm a Boston Bruin at the end of the day."
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Swayman will be a restricted free agent again next offseason. He'll also have arbitration rights at that time. Giving him a long-term contract will be easier next summer because the Bruins should have an abundance of salary cap space, maybe even as much as $30 million. Boston currently has less than $500,000 in cap space after signing Swayman and RFA center Trent Frederic over the last week.
Now that Swayman is back in the fold, the Bruins should once again have elite goaltending. Swayman finished fourth in both save percentage and GAA last season, while his teammate Linus Ullmark won the Vezina Trophy after leading the league in wins, save percentage and GAA.
Given all of the turnover the Bruins' roster has experienced this offseason, they are going to need great goaltending to make the playoffs in an ultra-competitive Eastern Conference next season.
"There's nothing separating that guy and I," Swayman said of his relationship with Ullmark. "That's something I'm really excited about and really looking forward to being back in action with him again."