Elliotte Friedman noted during his most recent episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast that the Boston Bruins might be rethinking the way they’ve handled contract negotiations with goaltender Jeremy Swayman. Noting that they both wish they hadn’t taken him to arbitration last season, the club might be wishing they did this summer considering how things have played out of late.
Friedman explained that he doesn’t believe that Swayman and the Bruins are getting any closer to finalizing a contract extension. Considering how long this is taking, the people Friedman talked to wondered if the team would go back in time and do arbitration the arbitration they did with him last year. Thinking Swayman never really got over that experience, he’s not willing to bend at all now when it comes to a new contract.
So too, Friedman believes that choosing to forego arbitration this summer might have been viewed as a mistake. He wonders if the Bruins would have preferred to just take Swayman to arbitration for a second time and let him choose the one or two-year term.
The downside of that was that Swayman could have walked himself right into unrestricted free agency. That is why the Bruins wanted to avoid arbitration now, but the NHL insider is thinking that since Swayman seems to be holding out for more money, the Bruins might have preferred to get the deal done, not have it drag into the 2024-25 season and try to sort out a longer extension before things got problematic at the end of the second season. In other words, the Bruins could have punted the problem down the road.
As it stands now, the Bruins have a goaltender who has ill feelings toward the organization for dragging him through arbitration once and he’s not going to do them any favors knowing he’s got some leverage, even as an RFA.
Why Did the Bruins Trade Ullmark Knowing Swayman Was Upset?
When asked why the Bruins would have traded Linus Ullmark knowing that all of this could blow up their faces, Friedman suggested that the ability for Ullmark to change the teams on his no-trade list was a potential concern. They wanted to be able to make the move they did, sending Ullmark to Ottawa. The fact that could have gone sideways on them was something they were concerned about.
