In this latest edition of Boston Bruins News & Rumors, Jeremy Swayman has been awarded his new contract through arbitration. In other news, an old friend expressed confidence in the idea of Brad Marchand potentially becoming the Bruins’ next captain. Meanwhile, Calgary Flames star center Elias Lindholm is continuing to pick up steam as a potential Bruins trade target. Let’s discuss this and more in today’s (Aug. 2) Bruins News & Rumors column.
Swayman Lands New Deal With Bruins
An arbitrator has awarded Swayman with a one-year, $3.475 million contract. Following this signing, the Bruins are projected to have $429,166 of cap space when sporting a 22-man roster. Needless to say, things are quite tight, but that was expected.
The Bruins and Swayman were quite far apart with their arbitration filings. The Bruins filed for $2 million, while Swayman was looking for $4.8 million for his new deal. In the end, the arbitrator favored Swayman’s request ever so slightly, as the mid-way point of their filings was $3.4 million.
Related: Bruins News & Rumors: Swayman, Frederic & Trade Targets
Now that a settlement through arbitration has been met, Swayman can focus on building off of his excellent 2022-23 campaign. In 37 appearances on the year, he sported a 24-6-4 record, a .920 save percentage (SV%), and a 2.27 goals-against average (GAA). With that, he won the William M. Jennings Award alongside reigning Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark.
Bruce Cassidy Sees Marchand As Great Choice for Captaincy
Last week, Bruins legend Patrice Bergeron announced his retirement. Replacing his one-of-a-kind leadership will be quite difficult for the Bruins, but they will eventually need to pick their next captain – whether it is for this season or in the future. While on The Cam & Strick Podcast, former Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy weighed in on the possibility of Marchand rocking the ‘C.’
Bruce Cassidy thinks Brad Marchand could be a great choice as the #NHLBruins next Captain @CamandStrick pic.twitter.com/BOB0TgPITd
— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) August 1, 2023
Marchand is a clear candidate for the captaincy role, as he is the Bruins’ longest-tenured player and has been a leader on their roster for several years. The 35-year-old has spent the entirety of his 947-game career as a Bruin, and clearly, Cassidy has a lot of faith in him. Let’s see if Bruins management feels the same way and promotes him to captaincy from here.
Lindholm Continuing to Be Viewed as Fit for Bruins
Since Bergeron announced his retirement, talk surrounding the possibility of the Bruins targeting Lindholm has increased immensely. It is understandable, as Lindholm is an elite two-way center due to his solid offensive production and excellent defensive play. In a recent article for The Hockey News, Randy Sportak noted that Lindholm could be the perfect answer for the Bruins’ weakened center depth. He also noted that Mikael Backlund could be a decent consolation price.
Sportak noted that the Flames should look to acquire Mason Lohrei as the main prospect in a hypothetical Lindholm deal. He also wrote that Fabian Lysell and Matthew Poitras would be good options for the Flames’ prospect pool. He lastly argued that a move centering around Lindholm would need to include more than just a single player, draft pick, or prospect.
Former Bruin Carl Soderberg Retires
Former Bruin forward Carl Soderberg has announced his retirement from professional hockey. The 37-year-old spent the last two seasons in Sweden with the Malmo Red Hawks. In 52 games played this past season with the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) club, he posted 14 goals and 26 points.
Although drafted by the St. Louis Blues in 2004, Soderberg began his NHL career during the 2012-13 season with the Bruins. In 2007, the Bruins acquired his signing right from the Blues for goaltender Hannu Toivonen. This turned out to be a massive win for the Bruins, as Soderberg put together a strong but short tenure with the Bruins. As a third-line center with Boston, Soderberg produced well, posting 29 goals and 94 points in 161 games played.
Related: Bruins Monthly: July 2023 Edition
In 597 career NHL games split between the Bruins, Arizona Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks, and Avalanche, Soderberg had 110 goals, 187 assists, and 297 points.
Mitchell Miller Finds New Home
Following his short-lived and completely unnecessary tenure with Bruins, prospect Mitchell Miller has found a new home, signing an entry-level contract with HK 32 Liptovsky Mikulas in Slovakia. This comes after he did not appear in a single game last season for the Bruins organization.
