Report: Bruins, Jeremy Swayman separated by $2.8 million ahead of arbitration

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins have a pair of players -- goalie Jeremy Swayman and forward Trent Frederic -- set for arbitration hearings in the coming days. And at least on Swayman, the team has a lot of ground to cover if it hopes to avoid that hearing.

According to Elliotte Friedman, the Bruins' arbitration filing for Swayman came in at $2 million. The filing from Swayman's camp was at $4.8 million.

Obviously, Swayman is worth more than $2 million. Whether he's worth the full $4.8 million will certainly be evaluated by the arbitrator, if the case does reach arbitration on Sunday.

Swayman, 24, made his NHL debut in April of 2020. Since then, he ranks second in the NHL in goals-against average (2.40) and fifth in the NHL in save percentage (.920). He's also recorded nine shutouts in just 82 starts, and he's taken over for Linus Ullmark in net for two consecutive postseasons.

Swayman made just $925,000 last year, the final season of the three-year entry-level contract he signed with Boston before the 2020-21 season.

The Bruins and Swayman can reach an agreement prior to Sunday's hearing if they are able to agree on a suitable contract that fits somewhere in the $2.8 million gap. If not, the Bruins will be making their case to an arbitrator that Swayman is worth just $2 million next season, an argument which figures to be a challenging one to make.