The Boston Bruins and Jeremy Swayman needed an arbitration hearing, but the goaltender re-signed on a one-year, $3.475-million contract.

Swayman and the team had a hearing on Sunday, July 30. The Bruins filed for a $2-million contract, while Swayman’s camp sought $4.8 million, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

The 24-year-old from Anchorage, Alaska, finished his entry-level contract this past season, where he had a 24-6-4 record with a .920 save percentage and 2.27 goals-against average in 37 appearances. Swayman was more of a 1B option in net rather than a backup, with Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark playing in 49 games. Both goalies actually started 13 games apiece from Feb. 21 to the end of the regular season. Dating back to Jan. 15, Ullmark and Swayman also had an even 21 appearances apiece despite the former starting 21 games and the latter starting 19.

In the first round of the playoffs, Boston started Swayman in Game 7 against the Florida Panthers after Ullmark allowed a combined 10 goals in two straight losses to Florida. Swayman allowed four goals on 31 shots against but got the team to overtime before conceding the series-ender.

While Ullmark took a lot of the spotlight with his elite performances in net, Swayman still put up strong numbers this past season. His save percentage tied for fourth in the NHL among goalies with at least 30 games played. His goals-against average was third in the league behind Ullmark and Minnesota Wild 1B goalie Filip Gustavsson. His four shutouts tied for fifth, and he even recorded 24 goals saved above expected that ranks eighth among NHL goalies, according to moneypuck.com. That means despite Boston’s strong defense, Swayman still exceeded expectations and stopped 24 more goals than an average goalie would.

With the Bruins signing Trent Frederic earlier on Tuesday, they now have 22 signed players on their roster with a projected $416,667 in cap space. They can reunite the Ullmark-Swayman tandem while remaining cap compliant, which is significant news considering how successful it was for them in 2022-23. On the flip side, it leaves the Bruins to do some salary gymnastics if they want to upgrade anywhere else, which includes finding someone to replace retired captain Patrice Bergeron as the No. 1 center.

Swayman is the second goaltender and third player to reach arbitration this off-season alone, compared to just two cases between 2020 and 2022. This summer could tie the 2019 off-season for the most arbitration verdicts, at six. The Anaheim Ducks’ Troy Terry, Edmonton Oilers’ Ryan McLeod and Pittsburgh Penguins’ Drew O’Connor have yet to settle on a deal before their hearings this week. Once the hearing begins, they can no longer reach a settlement.