January 17, 2024 | 10:55am ET
By Shawn Hutcheon, TheFourthPeriod.com

VINDICATION FOR ALL-STAR SWAYMAN; AGENT DISCUSSES NEXT CONTRACT

Jeremy Swayman, goaltender

BOSTON, MA — Since his first season with the Bruins, goaltender Jeremy Swayman, with his infectious personality and talent, has been one of Boston’s most popular fan-favorites. Now, in his fourth season, fans around the NHL are taking notice of the 25-year-old netminder. So much so that in online fan balloting, Swayman was voted into the 2024 All-Star Game with 578,739 votes. A vote that could be considered a form of vindication for the native of Anchorage, Alaska.

Being selected by the fans appeared to have extra significance for Swayman considering he endured a difficult arbitration hearing due to a contract dispute with the Bruins on July 30, 2023.

Before signing his present contract, Bruins management reportedly offered a new deal worth $2 million. Swayman who was a restricted free agent after last season, was looking for a contract worth $4.8 million.

An agreement could not be reached, and the two sides headed for the dreaded arbitration hearing where each side presented its argument as to why the arbitrator should find in their favor.

The meetings have been known to become contentious which was the case in Swayman’s hearing. However, after it was all said and done, the mediator awarded Swayman a one-year (2023-24) contract with an annual average value (AAV) of $3.475 million.

After stopping 20 shots at St. Louis in Boston’s 4-3 overtime win over the Blues on January 13, 2024, Swayman spoke to the media about the significance of what will be his first All-Star appearance and in doing so, appeared to have a feeling of vindication. He did not say so, but one could not help but get the feeling there was extra satisfaction in knowing that his hard work and belief in himself had paid off.

“That's really special,” Swayman said. “First and foremost, it couldn’t have happened without the team in front of me. Huge kudos to them for allowing that to happen but, after dealing with what I did this summer with arbitration and hearing things that a player should never hear, it feels pretty special to be in this situation.”

Upon completion of that meeting in August, Swayman said that he had no desire to go through the process in the future.

“I’m not the first player to go through it,” he said. “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.”

With an All-Star selection and a 13-3-7 record this season along a goals-against average of 2.38 (eighth-best among NHL goaltenders), a sixth-best .922 save percentage, and a fifth-best three shutouts, Swayman is doing his part to avoid a return trip to the arbitration table after the year concludes.

Swayman’s agent Lewis Gross is hopeful that a new contract can be agreed upon between his client and the Bruins and stated as much during an appearance on “32 Thoughts: The Podcast” which was posted on January 12.

Co-host Elliotte Friedman asked Gross if he had any news on the status of a new contract for Swayman.

“Jeremy loves Boston,” said Gross. “Jeremy loves being a Bruin. It’s a great organization. He’s a great, young, goaltender; confident as can be, and as good as he is on the ice. I was just with him in Boston and he’s equally as good off the ice. He has time for everybody. We went to watch (University of) Maine play BU (Boston University) and I think it took us almost 30 minutes to get out of the building. He’s actually such an incredible young man and I know the Bruins know that and we’re gonna hope we work out the kind of deal that everybody will be happy with.”

Swayman has appeared in 112 career NHL games. He carries an overall record of 67-26-14. His career goals against average is 2.27 and his save percentage is .920. His 12 shutouts have him tied with Hall of Famer Tiny Thompson for third-most by a Bruins goaltender at age 25 or younger.

With a resume like that, Swayman’s next contract should be one that will make everybody happy while making the assistance of a mediator unnecessary.