Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman met the media yesterday (video link) to discuss his new one-year, $3.475MM deal that came from an arbitrator. He indicated that while he’s grateful for having gone through the process, he has no desire to do so in the future. Swayman is coming off a breakout campaign that saw him post a 2.27 GAA with a .920 SV% and four shutouts in 37 games last season, helping to form the best tandem in the NHL. It’s quite possible that he could go through this process again, however, as he has two arbitration-eligible seasons remaining; he isn’t able to hit unrestricted free agency until 2026.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- Earlier this offseason, it appeared as if Flames center Elias Lindholm wasn’t willing to sign a contract extension. That doesn’t appear to be the case anymore as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported in a recent appearance on the NHL Network (video link) that the two sides appear to be well into discussions on an eight-year extension. The 28-year-old has been one of the more impressive two-way middlemen over the last few years, making his $4.85MM AAV a nice bargain. However, to get him to put pen on a new deal, that price tag could push closer to the $9MM range.
- Don’t expect Sharks center Logan Couture to be following Erik Karlsson out of San Jose. The veteran told NHL.com’s Jon Lane that he wants to help turn things around with the only NHL franchise he has ever suited up for. Couture is coming off a solid season, picking up 27 goals and 40 assists in 82 games to lead all Sharks forwards in scoring. The 34-year-old has four years left on his contract with an AAV of $8MM.
- The Canadiens have hired former NHL winger Fernando Pisani as an amateur scout, per their Hockey Operations page. He spent eight seasons playing at the top level, getting into 462 games between Edmonton and Chicago. Since then, Pisani has spent the last nine seasons working as either an assistant coach or a development coach primarily at the CIS and WHL levels. This will be his first foray into scouting.
love Lindholms game but the issue is which offensive Lindholm are you getting. the guy who was a PPG guy two seasons ago or last years version. One is certainly worth a 9M investment per year, the other will become an albatross contract in 2-3
The Flames are getting the Lindholm that hopefully won’t have his time on ice dictated by defensive assignments like he was used by Sutter last year. He still managed 64 points despite the 20G drop; the underlying advanced stats were all favorable and in line with his career offensive numbers (which of course was eclipsed by Huberdeau’s 60 pt drop in output)