Don Sweeney, general manager of the Boston Bruins, had one final task to complete before NHL free agency began Monday.
On Sunday, the Boston Bruins extended qualifying offers to Jeremy Swayman, Michael Callahan, Marc McLaughlin, and Alec Regula, who will remain restricted free agents.
Fellow restricted free agents. The Bruins did not extend qualifying offers to Jesper Boqvist and Curtis Hall, so they will become unrestricted free agents. Joey Abate was also not extended a qualifying offer, but he will stay under contract with the Providence Bruins for the 2024-25 season.
A qualifying offer does not indicate that the players are under contract. Instead, it allows the team to match any contract offer a player receives from another organization during free agency via an offer sheet. To be eligible for the season, the player must sign the qualifying offer before December 1.
The Bruins’ qualifying offer to Swayman is purely a formality and in no way indicates that the two parties are close to reaching an agreement on a contract extension.
Reaching a long-term agreement with Swayman was already a high priority for the Bruins heading into the summer, and it is now much more important after Linus Ullmark was traded to the Ottawa Senators on Monday.
“It’s a priority for us to continue to have the discussions necessary to get Jeremy under contract,” Sweeney stated on Thursday, before to the NHL Draft.
Swayman is eligible for contract arbitration, but Sweeney indicated the Bruins will not pursue that option with the goalkeeper for the second year in a succession. Swayman was angry this season while on a one-year, $3.48 million contract after the Bruins took him to arbitration during the 2023 summer.
As the clear-cut starter in Boston, Swayman is anticipated to receive a substantial raise this season. According to AFP Analytics, Swayam is expected to sign a five-year contract with an average of $6.43 million this summer.
“He’s earned everything that’s come his way,” Sweeney added.
Swayman, 26, played 44 games for the Bruins last season, finishing 25-10-8 with a 2.53 goals-against average and a.916 save percentage. He started all but one of Boston’s postseason games. Although the Bruins’ playoff run ended early, Swayman lead netminders in the postseason with 13.3 saves more than projected, according to MoneyPuck.com.
The NHL unrestricted free agency period opens on Monday at 12:00 EST.
