The Boston Bruins have decisions to make on their expiring contracts before free agency opens on July 1. Based on factors such as roster needs and players' talent, we are ranking the 10 most important free agents and predicting their future in Boston.
With just under one month remaining until free agency opens, we will be going over the top 10 free agents for the Boston Bruins.
These are all “in-house” options that they will have to decide between keeping or letting go. This is not covering potential free agent targets on other teams.
Additionally, the ranking has less to do with the talent or production of the player, but rather the importance of the decision. Obviously each player’s ability factors into that determination, but based on the make-up of the roster and the team’s most-pressing needs, a ‘better’ player may not be as big a priority as a player in another position.
You can find the rest of the list so far below:
Finally, we end the list with No. 1:
1. Jeremy Swayman, Goaltender
Age: 25
2023-24 stats: 25-10-8, 2.53 GAA, .916 SV%
Previous contract: 1 year, $3.475 million
Total Years with Bruins: 4
This shouldn’t come as a shock, but the number one ‘in-house’ free agent for the Boston Bruins in terms of importance of the decision and impact is Jeremy Swayman. One half of what has been an elite goalie tandem for the past couple seasons, Swayman took a step forward in 2023-24, passing up Linus Ullmark as the 1A in the rotation.
A hot start to the season earned Swayman his first appearance in an NHL All-Star Game, and after splitting time in the crease his whole career, Swayman earned the net for nearly the entirety of Boston’s playoff run.
Starting 12 of 13 games, his .933 save percentage still leads the NHL this postseason, and his performance even in losing efforts proved that Boston can rely on him as their franchise goalie with a heavier workload going forward.
Swayman is a restricted free agent, and after an arduous arbitration led to him signing a one-year bridge deal this season, he is ready to sign long term.
Prediction: He re-signs
For Swayman, it really isn’t about if he re-signs, but for how much and how long. Bruins general manager Don Sweeney made it clear signing Swayman is high on his offseason ‘to-do’ list.
"It’s a priority now and it will continue to be a priority until we get that across the finish line," Sweeney said at Boston’s end-of-season media availability.
The bigger decision in this situation is what the team will do with Ullmark, who has one year left at a $5 million cap hit. He also has a limited no-trade clause, which allows him to block trades to about half the league, but the Bruins will see what they can possibly get for him this offseason.
Whether Ullmark stays or gets traded away, Swayman will remain a Bruin, for 2024-25 and many years beyond that.
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