The Boston Bruins have a lot of unknowns going into the 2024 summer. The goaltending scenario involving Jeremy Swayman and Jeremy Swayman’s two-headed goaltender attack is at the top of the list. Over the last two seasons in Boston, the goaltender tandem played a significant role in the team’s 2023 President’s Trophy victory and back-to-back postseason participation.
Many uncertainties still surround how the Boston Bruins will use their cap room to bolster their squad as they approach the summer of 2024. If Don Sweeny intends to spend more than $10 million on his goaltender position, that is one of the most important questions he needs to answer.
For the past two seasons, Jeremy Swayman and Ullmark have alternated shifts. Salary arbitration determined that Swayman deserved a one-year contract worth $3.475 million for the 2023–24 campaign. Entering this summer, the goalie, who was born in Alaska, is once again a restricted free agent. Similar to the previous summer, Swayman anticipates receiving a raise following a 25-10-8 record and 92% save percentage. Before the arbitrator met with both parties in the middle to make the final decision, the goalie from the previous season requested about $5 million in the offseason.
Quotes from his inaugural All-Star game from earlier in the season suggest that Boston would be better off keeping Swayman out of arbitration this summer. The young goaltender had a bad feeling about the procedure. “But yes, it feels pretty special to be in this situation (making the all-star game) after dealing with what I did with arbitration this summer and hearing things that a player should never hear.”
General manager Don Sweeney of the Boston Bruins would be happy with two outstanding goalies and significantly fewer worries than most NHL teams if life were easy. When every dollar counts in the process of developing a club, two excellent goaltenders demand a significant financial expenditure for one position in the wage cap world.
An NHL team trying to make a move at the top of the goaltender depth chart may find great value in veteran goalie Linus Ullmark, whose contract is about to expire at $5 million. When the 2024–25 Boston Bruins season kicks out in October, the Swedish backstop will most likely still be there.
“That was also something new for me this year,” he remarked. It was a novel experience for me as I had never participated in any trade negotiations before. Was it challenging? Yes, it was difficult because you feel so at ease in your current situation. When you’re playing well and you feel like you have the team and the relationships with your teammates, you don’t want to move.
In the event that Sweeney chooses to part ways with the goaltender during the 2024 offseason, he will have to deal with the no-trade clause in Ullmark’s contract.
The massive, happy embraces these two players give each other after T.D. Garden victories are proof enough of their friendship to anyone who watches the NHL or the Boston Bruins.
Though there are many differing opinions on how to put together a squad capable of winning a championship, all schools of thought agree on one thing: the people you bring into the building process are crucial. Though occasionally it can be lost in the hustle and bustle of sports, other times the people exiting the building are just as important.
The Boston Bruins’ summer preparations may benefit greatly if they decide to trade Linus Ullmark’s one-year contract, which is set to expire, to the highest bidder this winter. But splitting up the world-class goalkeeper duo could also have a lot of unintended consequences that Beantown won’t hear about for months or perhaps years.
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