Samsonov Gets Solid Arbitration Reward; Swayman Next?

Should Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman be more optimistic heading into his arbitration hearing next Sunday?

On Sunday, Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov was awarded a one-year, $3.55 million contract after his arbitration hearing this past Friday. The Maple Leafs and Samsonov were reportedly quite far apart in their asks heading into the hearing on Friday. Various reports had Samsonov filing for a one-year, $4.9 million contract, and the team coming in at $2.4 million. There have been no reports on what Swayman and his agent Lewis Gross are asking for, but one would think after a career season for the 24-year-old goalie, the ask is similar to Samsonov’s.

Samsonov, 26, emerged as the everyday starter thanks to Matt Murray’s constant injury woes. He went 27-10-5 last season with a 2.33 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage in 42 games. The Russian netminder signed a one-year, $1.8 million contract last summer after not receiving a qualifying offer from the Washington Capitals.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Swayman is coming out of his three-year, $2.7 million contract with a $925,000 salary cap hit. Swayman didn’t have quite the workload that Samsonov did but was superb in a split of the games with hugging partner Linus Ullmark. Swayman went 24-6-4 with a 2.27 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage. Swayman and Ullmark were awarded the 2023 Jennings Trophy, which goes to the goalie tandem with the best-combined goals-against average.

The Boston Bruins were required to submit a minimum $874,125 qualifying offer by June 30 to retain his rights. It is unknown what the qualifying offer from the Bruins was, but it did not meet the expectations of Swayman and Gross, and that’s why the goalie filed for arbitration.

Since the 2022-23 Boston Bruins season ended, Swayman has been optimistic a deal would be reached between him and the team and has been adamant that he wants to remain a Bruin for a long time.

“I think the team’s going to be really special in years to come, and obviously, I want to do everything I can to be a Bruin. I absolutely love wearing that Spoked-B,” Swayman told 92.9 FM The Ticket on June 7.