Report: Bruins And Frederic A Year And $1.5 Million Apart

Per Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, the Boston Bruins and forward Trent Frederic are a year and $1.5 million apart in their arbitration filings. Frederic is scheduled to have his player-elected arbitration hearing on Tuesday.

According to Friedman, the Boston Bruins offered a two-year contract that would carry a $1.4 million salary cap hit, and Frederic and his agent Allain Roy have filed for a one-year deal that would bring a $2.9 million cap hit.

Boston and Trent Frederic have exchanged arbitration numbers — team: 2x$1.4M…player: one year at $2.9M.

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 30, 2023

Trent Frederic, 25, is coming off a career year. The 6-foot-3, 214-pound forward had a career-high in goals (17), assists (14), and points with 31 in 79 games this past season. Frederic is coming out of a two-year contract with a 1.05 million salary cap hit, and the Bruins were required to give him a minimum of $1.15 million qualifying offer.

Boston Bruins restricted free agent goalie Jeremy Swayman was slated to have his player-elected arbitration hearing on Sunday. On Friday, Friedman reported that the Bruins and Swayman were $2.8 million apart in their filings, with the Bruins filing an offer of one year at $2 million and the Swayman camp coming in at one year, $4.8 million.

As of Sunday morning, the Bruins had approximately $5.4 million in salary cap space against the 2023-24 $83.5 million salary cap. According to Puckpedia, if, like in most NHL arbitration hearings, the Bruins were able to meet halfway with Swayman ($3.4M AAV) and Frederic ($2.1M AAV), that would leave them with a cap hit of $78.8 million for their 2023-24 roster. However, factor in the $4.5 million in bonus overage from the 2022-23 Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci one-year, bonus-laden contracts and the $333,334 from the Mike Reilly buyout earlier this offseason, and the Bruins will be $133,334 over the salary cap.

This is why NHL trade rumors, as they have all through the offseason, will continue to follow the Boston Bruins until general manager Don Sweeney can gain more salary cap space via another trade. It should also be noted that with Swayman – and Frederic if his arbitration hearing takes place – the Bruins could elect to use a second buyout window, but the player they buy out must have a cap hit of at least $4 million. The Bruins could also walk away from either arbitration award if they’re over $4.53 million.