Before NHL free agency officially begins tomorrow, there was one last order of business for Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney to tend to.
The Bruins extended qualifying offers to Jeremy Swayman, Michael Callahan, Marc McLaughlin, and Alec Regula on Sunday, maintaining their statuses as restricted free agents.
Fellow restricted free agents Jesper Boqvist and Curtis Hall did not receive qualifying offers from the Bruins and will become unrestricted free agents. Joey Abate was also not given a qualifying offer either but will remain under contract with the Providence Bruins for the 2024-25 season.
A qualifying offer does not mean the players are under contract. Instead, it provides the team the opportunity to match any contract offer a player should receive from another organization in free agency via an offer sheet. The player has until Dec. 1 to sign the qualifying offer in order for it to be valid for the season.
The Bruins handing Swayman a qualifying offer is merely a formality and is by no means an indication the two sides are close to agreening on a contract extension.
Reaching a long-term agreement with Swayman was already a top issue for the Bruins heading into this summer and is now even more imperative following the trade of Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators last Monday.
“It’s a priority for us to continue to have the discussions necessary to get Jeremy under contract,” said Sweeney this past Thursday prior to the NHL Draft.
Swayman is eligible for contract arbitration, but Sweeney said that is not a route the Bruins are willing to take with the goalie for a second year in a row. Swayman was resentful during this past season while under a one-year, $3.48 million price stage after the Bruins took him to arbitration during the 2023 offseason.
Now, as the clear-cut starter in Boston, Swayman is expected to earn a significant raise this time around. According to AFP Analytics, Swayam is projected to sign a five-year contract with an average annual value of $6.43 million this summer.
“He’s earned everything that’s come his way,” Sweeney said.
Swayman, 26, appeared in 44 games for the Bruins last season, compiling a record of 25-10-8 with a 2.53 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. He started all but one game for Boston in the postseason. Although the Bruins’ playoff run ended prematurely, Swayman still led netminders in the postseason with 13.3 saves above expected, according to MoneyPuck.com.
NHL unrestricted free agency officially begins on Monday at noon EST.
