Jeremy Swayman attended the arbitration personally. Trent Frederic saw it as a business

BRIGHTON, Massachusetts – July 30, 2023 was an unforgettable day for Jeremy Swayman. He was in the ballroom of a Toronto hotel. During his unpleasant arbitration hearing with the Boston Bruins, he heard criticism that cut him to the bone.

Ten months later, during the Bruins' second-round showdown against the Florida Panthers, those criticisms still echoed in his head. One assessment particularly bothered Swayman: The Bruins believed his .901 save percentage in eight career playoff appearances made him untrustworthy in the playoffs.

Swayman received a one-year award of $3.475 million. The Bruins opted for a one-year term, partly as a nod to Swayman to put him back on the market. Looking back, they should have chosen two.

Swayman's hard feelings toward his employer over the arbitration are likely a key reason for his determination to stick with his claim. How he responds to the rise in temperature will determine the length of the disagreement.

Trent Frederic could have been in a similar situation.

Two days after Swayman faced the Bruins, Frederic was scheduled to have his own hearing with the Bruins. According to Sportsnet, Frederic wanted a one-year, $2.9 million deal. The Bruins countered with a two-year contract worth $1.4 million per year.

On August 1, shortly before the hearing, the sides agreed to a two-year contract with an average annual value of $2.3 million. According to Frederic's recollection, the agreement was reached ten minutes before the hearing began.

But Frederic had one thing in common with Swayman. Before each arbitration hearing, the sides will exchange briefs setting out their respective cases. Frederic and agent Allain Roy read what the Bruins would argue during the hearing.

In other words, Frederic knew his employer's arguments as to why he didn't deserve the deal he wanted. The striker did not provide any information The athlete one of the arguments the Bruins made on behalf of their preferred number.

“I was still able to read everything they wanted to say,” Frederic said of reviewing the arbitration briefs. “Some people deal with it differently. They have different things they will say about each person. I don’t want to dwell on it too much.”

Frederic and Swayman were both born in 1998. Frederic was part of a group of hotshots from the St. Louis area that included Clayton Keller, Matthew Tkachuk, Logan Brown, Luke Kunin and Joseph Woll. All six played for the US National Team Development Program. Five of them were first-round picks. Frederic took 29th place in 2016.

Swayman, on the other hand, stayed under the radar.

The Anchorage, Alaska native didn't make it to the Kenai River Brown Bears, his local North American Hockey League team. At the age of 16, he had to leave home for Colorado. Only when it was too late was he recruited by the University of Alaska Anchorage, his home school. The Bruins selected him in the fourth round.

All of this made Swayman more of a pushy person than Frederic.

Frederic is an easy player. Coach Jim Montgomery has deployed the left-winger on the left wing, center and right wing, partly because he does not insist on playing a specific position. Frederic is a natural center.

In this way, Frederic may be better able to frame arbitration arguments as business rather than personal.

“It’s not necessarily that they’re serious,” Frederic said. “It’s like being in court, right? There are people who defend murderers. Maybe they don't really mean it. It’s just part of the job.”

Frederic is entering the final season of his contract. He will be unrestricted by the end of the year. Roy talks to general manager Don Sweeney about a Black and Gold extension.

“I don’t know what Sway said or what he said,” Frederic said. “But for me it wasn’t that bad. It’s a business.”

Swayman, meanwhile, is holding his own even though public opinion is in favor of a $64 million offer from the Bruins. The regular season is getting closer and closer.

(Photo by Trent Frederic and Jeremy Swayman: Eric Hartline / USA Today)