Pending RFAs Jeremy Swayman and Trent Frederic among Bruins' offseason priorities

Regardless of whether they won the Stanley Cup, made a deep playoff run, or fizzled out as they did, the Bruins were going to have a complicated summer ahead of them.

The decision between continuing on as a professional hockey player or moving on to the next stage of life would have stared Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci between the eyes.

There would have been tough calls to make on a litany of free agents, both restricted and unrestricted, after an all-in push at the trade deadline. 

The combined $4.5 million in performance bonus overages as a result of Bergeron and Krejci's incentive-laden deals severely would have eaten into Boston's cap space, leaving them with roughly $4.9 million in wiggle room this summer. There still would have been possible cap casualties, like Derek Forbort, Matt Grzlecyk or Taylor Hall, who could see themselves on the move in the name of financial flexibility. Creating that flexibility is near the top of the to-do list.

These headaches, however, are on the front burner much earlier than anyone expected.

Among the upcoming expiring contracts, pending restricted free agents Jeremy Swayman and Trent Frederic are among the top priorities. With the state of the Bruins' roster, they should be no-brainers for Don Sweeney to re-sign. 

Both players want to be in Boston. Neither necessarily have the freedom to make their own choice either, considering their status as RFAs. They would have that freedom, if the B's do not submit qualifying offers before July 1, but their qualifying offers are minuscule (Frederic - $1.15 million; Swayman - $874k). There's no reason to believe Boston wouldn't qualify both players, who left the contract talks up to their agents and the front office.

"My agent and Sweens [Don Sweeney] will talk. I don't know much about it," Frederic said during breakup day Tuesday at Warrior Ice Arena. "I want to be here for as long as I can."

Swayman said, "I leave that up to the agents and the guys that are good at that. I’m excited for sure, I absolutely love it here and it’s going to be a fun process.” 

With a cap squeeze looming, Boston must find a way to maintain its goaltending strength and lock up affordable depth, like Frederic, this offseason. 

On Swayman...

There's the argument for dealing from a position of strength by moving one of Linus Ullmark or Jeremy Swayman to help the cap situation and recoup capital, but the Bruins would be better off trying to maintain one of the league's best goaltending situations. Although, maybe a team is willing to get silly with an offer, then, of course, it's a consideration.

Ullmark wasn't physically right in the playoffs, despite declining to shed light on his condition on Tuesday, and while Swayman let up a bad goal in Game 7, he still gave the Bruins a chance to win. Either way, more than half the NHL would kill to have the goaltending situation that the Bruins have. 

Boston plans to remain very competitive next season. The defense should be a backbone, while there are still foundational pieces in the forward group, particularly on the wing, that the Bruins can lean on. Swayman and Ullmark help the positive outlook tremendously, and while Brandon Bussi has shown promise in his first year as a pro, he remains unproven. 

Behind the triple-crown winner in Ullmark, Swayman was among the league's best goaltenders as well, finishing fourth in goals-against average (2.27) and save percentage (.920), even after a rocky start to the year that also saw him go down with injury. He was fifth with four shutouts, two more than Ullmark. 

A big part of their success together was their chemistry together.

“He’s one of those people, too, that I am just so fortunate to know and get to experience life with," Swayman said after Game 7. "He’s taught me so much, and we’ve learned from each other, and it goes beyond the rink; it goes into family. To be a part of his family and him a part of mine is something that I will forever cherish, and I am just so lucky to have a partner like him — and hopefully for a really long time.”

Swayman ranked eighth in goals-saved above expected (24.0) and wins above replacement (4.0), according to MoneyPuck, and his .715 goals-saved above expected per 60 minutes was .715, third among qualified goaltenders behind only Ullmark (.883) and fellow Vezina candidate Juuse Saros (.735). He was ahead of other candidates like Ilya Sorokin (.647) in 25 fewer games and Connor Hellebuyck (.489) in 27 fewer appearances. 

Swayman is in line for a "prove it" bridge deal, considering his closest comparables in terms of age, experience and potential could be Jake Oettinger (three years, $4 million per), Spencer Knight (three years, $4.5 million per) and Carter Hart (three years, $3.979 million per). Perhaps there is a two-year deal to be had in this neighborhood ($3-4.5 million) to take Swayman to the end of Ullmark's deal, where he would have the chance to cash in and fully assume primary duties in Boston's crease.

The two sides should be able to agree, considering the 24-year-old said the priority for his new deal is: "Playing hockey, ideally in a Bruins sweater."

On Frederic...

Frederic finally began to blossom into a difference-maker that organizations hope to get out of first-round picks.

The 29th overall pick from 2016 set career-highs in goals (17) and points (31), finding his game alongside Charlie Coyle and Taylor Hall on a third line that was one off Bostons's best at 5-on-5.

"A lot," Coyle said of how much he thought Frederic grew this season. "I love Freddy. I love playing with him. Such a great kid, a great teammate, and I really love him as a player. He's only getting better and better. You can see the strides. He's taking the confidence that he's built. It's great to see. You can just tell, you know. Every day he's working on his game, he's doing this and he's getting more confident each day.

"He's gonna have a big summer here. He's gonna come back and be even better. There's no question about that. But he's taken some great strides, and it's awesome to see."

When Hall-Coyle-Frederic was fully together for 189:28 of play this season, the B's had a 53.68 percent share of shot attempts and a 55.44 percent edge in actual shots. They had a 12-5 scoring margin to go along with a 59.09 percent advantage in scoring chances (61.25 percent high-danger). Specifically for Coyle and Frederic, the Bruins outscored teams, 27-13 (17-6 high-danger goals), in the 478:12 that they were together. 

In the playoffs, Frederic was the only Bruins forward to go without a point. The chances were there early in the series, especially in Games 1 and 2. He finished the series with eight individual scoring chances (five high-danger) at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick. With No. 11 on the ice for 884:43 of 5-on-5 time in the regular season, Boston outscored teams, 47-23 (26-9 high-danger), and high-danger chances were 56.35 percent in its favor.

Ironically, one of Frederic's best comparables is Florida's Sam Bennett who, along with Matthew Tkachuk, terrorized the Bruins after making his return to the lineup in Game 2. Frederic and Bennett are both left shots capable of playing wing and center, who when living up to their potential, are physical agitators that can add meaningful scoring in the middle six. Bennett has unlocked that in recent years, morphing into a second-line center with Florida. The Bruins hope they can get the same out of Frederic, particularly on the third line next season if Bergeron and/or Krejci do not return.

Frederic is coming off a two-year, $1.05 million (annually) deal, his second in the NHL after his entry-level contract expired. Bennett signed a two-year contract worth $1.95 million per year, coming off of his ELC. He was coming off a similar season to what Frederic just had, posting 13 goals and 27 points in 71 games in 2018-19. His career bests to that point were 18 goals and 36 points, right in Frederic's neighborhood.

Bennett signed a two-year deal worth $2.55 million per season, which carried him to his current contract. That Bennett contract serves as a possible middle ground between Boston and Frederic. 

The 25-year-old Frederic found more of an identity this season, offensively, evolving from the fourth-line fighter he broke in as.

“I don't know how to explain it, but [scoring gives you more confidence in yourself,” Frederic said. “When you have no goals, it’s hard to back up the fighting. You just got to do what you got to do. It helps when you add that other stuff, and you can fight on your terms.”

Drafted as a center, he got a look as a third-line center down the stretch in the regular season after spending most of his NHL tenure on the wing. He's shown his versatility on both wings. Depending on Bergeron and Krejci, Frederic factors to be a key piece of the center depth going forward.

“I came in as a center and then went to left [wing] and played a lot of right [wing] this year, which I really like,” Frederic said. “It was nice to go back and play center. I want to work on faceoffs this summer to be trusted in that aspect. … I think I can do a good job and help this team.”

Like Swayman, his priority is being in the Spoked-B.

"I want to be a Bruin as long as I can. Obviously, I can't go anywhere else [as an RFA], so they're bringing me back," he joked."I've had fun being here."