Bruins, Frederic avoid arbitration with agreement on two-year deal

One of the Bruins' two key restricted free agents is officially back in the mix for the 2023-24 season.

Boston and Frederic avoided arbitration on Tuesday by reaching an agreement on a two-year contract worth $2.3 million annually, according to Elliotte Friedman. 

Friedman reported on Sunday that the Bruins and Frederic were a year and $1.5 million apart in their arbitration filings with the team seeking a two-year deal with a $1.4 million cap hit and the player asking for one year at $2.9 million. 

Frederic, the 29th overall pick in 2016, had a breakout season on Boston's third line alongside Charlie Coyle for the bulk of last season, putting up 17 goals and 14 assists for 31 points in 79 games, all career highs. 

"A lot," Coyle said at breakup day 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."

Remaining a Bruin was always Frederic's priority. 

"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 at breakup day in April. "I've had fun being here." 

Jeremy Swayman, the last remaining bit of business for Boston, had his hearing on Sunday. The neutral arbiter has 48 hours after the hearing to reach a decision, which would be expected sometime Tuesday.

BSJ Analysis...

This is a perfectly fine compromise for Frederic. It's not an exact split down the middle – $600,000 below the player's ask and $900,000 above the team's. I would expect what the Bruins gained in the term they sought, Frederic gained in terms of average annual value. You've got to give to get. It comes in right about where AFP Analytics projected him, in terms of dollars and cents – $2,269,442.11 over three years. Earlier in the offseason, I thought Sam Bennett's second contract (two-years at $2.55 million, annually) might have been a good comparable as well. 

Don't undersell the importance of avoiding arbitration, too. Going to the hearing is always the last resort for both parties. Teams have to present why they shouldn't pay the player what he wants, feelings can inadvertently get hurt – for lack of a better term – and everyone can come away feeling sour about the process. Frederic is fiery and wears his heart on his sleeve. I'm sure, like most players, he leaves a lot of it to his agent, but better to avoid it, either way. 

The deal leaves Boston with approximately $3.13 million in cap space for Swayman, who will likely come in around the $3.5 million neighborhood or higher. The B's can work it to come up with about $3.879 million in cap room, according to @BruinsCapSpace on Twitter. Space can always be maneuvered, and the Bruins can go 10 percent above the cap in the offseason while they sort themselves out, whether by trade, roster moves, etc.

Getting back to Frederic, there's always the chance he could regress, considering his 14.2 percent shooting percentage was by far the highest of his career (previously 9.1 going back to 42 games in 2020-21. It was 8 percent in 80 games in 2021-22). 

Still, his growth was clearly evident, going from a fourth-line fighter to an impactful third-line winger, effective along the boards and able to contribute to the offense more than he ever had before. Frederic (6-foot-3, 214 pounds) took notes from his similarly-sized counterpart, Coyle (6-3, 223), trying to utilize his size more in an effort to become hard to contain along the boards. He was more confident in the offensive zone, looking to create more plays and chances rather than differing. 

“I don't know how to explain it, but [scoring gives you more confidence in yourself,” Frederic said of his evolution in May. “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.”

When Taylor Hall, Coyle and Frederic were fully together for 189:28 of 5-on-5 play this season, the B's had a 53.68 percent share of shot attempts and a 55.44 percent edge in actual shots, according to Natural Stat Trick. 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. The Bruins outscored teams by 67.5 percent (27-13), and high-danger goals were 73.91 percent (17-6) in their favor.

The latter regressed in the playoffs as the only forward to go without a point. He finished the series with eight individual scoring chances (five high-danger) at 5-on-5. 

Still, 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.

With Coyle slated to take on a top-six center role, more of the onus on the third line will fall to Frederic, who could be a candidate to take over reps down the middle, along with Morgan Geekie. During the season, Jim Montgomery talked about needing Frederic's pace and details continue to improve.

“What we want to see about him and his development as a player is how quickly he can defend in the D zone, like we’ve seen [Pavel] Zacha do,” Montgomery told reporters in St. Louis on April 4. “Obviously, Coyle can do it, and we know [Tomas] Nosek can, too. It gives us more diversity moving forward if he can play center aside from both wings, which he’s already shown.”

Geekie (6-3, 200) brings a right shot and similar size, along with solid forechecking and playmaking, that could compliment Frederic well, as it did with Coyle. A third line with both Frederic and Geekie – plus their size – could breed effective play along the boards and in the corners of the offensive zone. They would provide two face-off options for Boston, depending on matchups, situations, etc. 

“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 face-offs this summer to be trusted in that aspect. … I think I can do a good job and help this team.”