Bruins sign goaltender Brandon Bussi to one-year, two-way contract extension

Bussi, an AHL All-Star in his first full season in Providence, went 22-5-4 with a 2.40 goals against average. He had the third-highest save percentage (.924) in the AHL. The big Western Michigan product (6 feet 5 inches, 209 pounds) helped Providence stay at the top of the AHL’s Atlantic Division for most of the season.

In the first round, the Bruins lost a best-of-five series to Hartford, 3-1. Bussi stopped 57 of 60 shots in the first two games (.950), both losses, before finishing 56 of 62 (.903). He was rewarded with a varsity jersey (No. 70) in the final stretch of the regular season.

The Bruins recalled him on an emergency basis to back up Swayman in Philadelphia and Montreal when Linus Ullmark was injured. He served as the unused spare goalie for the first-round loss to Florida and signed a one-year, two-way extension through the 2023-24 season with an NHL cap hit of $775,000.

If the stellar tandem of last year — Ullmark, the likely Vezina Trophy winner, and Swayman — is broken apart to help solve salary-cap issues, Bussi could find himself working NHL games next season.

Ullmark is entering the third year of a four-year, $20 million contract. His no-movement clause expires on July 1. For the final two seasons of his deal, he can be traded to about half the teams in the league. In 2023-24, according to CapFriendly, he can submit a 16-team no-trade list. That becomes a 15-team list in 2024-25.

Swayman also has leverage. This summer, he can take the Bruins to arbitration if he chooses. To retain his rights for one season, the team can give him a qualifying offer of $874,125, according to CapFriendly. That, however, would be seen as a slight to Swayman, who has earned a significant raise.

In 88 NHL games over two-plus seasons, Swayman has a 54-23-7 record with a 2.24 goals-against average, .920 save percentage, and 9 shutouts. He has appeared in eight games in first-round playoff series against Carolina (2022) and Florida (2023), going 3-4 with a 2.79 GAA and .901 save percentage.

Swayman’s comparables — as in, the market for young, promising goalies on a track to be No. 1s in the NHL — include Spencer Knight (who makes $4.5 million a season), Jake Oettinger ($4 million), and Carter Hart ($3.979 million).

Offer sheets are rare in the NHL, but Swayman would be an intriguing target for another team. If a competitor offered a deal worth up to $4.29 million, it would have to pay only a second-round pick to the Bruins if they chose not to match. The Bruins would recoup first- and third-round picks if they did not match an offer between $4.29 million and $6.435-plus million.

The Bruins would likely match any offer sheet to Swayman, making it less likely that a team would attempt that move. An offer sheet would, of course, make it more difficult for general manager Don Sweeney to build a competitive team.

The Bruins are encouraged by Bussi, who grew up on Long Island (Sound Beach) and played against future NHL stars Charlie McAvoy and Adam Fox in travel hockey.

“I was always on the weaker teams that faced 50 shots and kept the game close,” Bussi said in April. “Sometimes youth parents want their goalies to go to the best teams. I think that helped me.”

When interviewed in April, he also was not fazed by having started the year in the ECHL. He went 3-1-0 with a 2.50 GAA and .922 save percentage for Maine before moving up a level.

“I push it aside by remembering I’m getting paid to play professional hockey,” he said. “Not that working a 9-to-5 is bad, but I get to come to the rink every day and put in the work with the boys.”

He had his eye on Boston, too, should that door open.

“Day to day, everyone works hard,” he said, deflecting to his teammates. “I think Boston’s known for the blue-collar. Everyone wants to be the best. We want to be the guys who fill in those spots that might come open. We want to be ready for that moment.”

The other two goalies that finished the year with Bussi in Providence — Kyle Keyser and Michael DiPietro — are restricted free agents not under contract.

Keyser, 24, was undrafted and signed by the Bruins out of OHL Oshawa in October 2017. After overcoming several injuries, including concussion issues, he has played a tandem role in Providence the last two seasons.

DiPietro, 24, was a third-round pick by Vancouver in 2017. The Canucks traded him to the Bruins last Oct. 27, along with Swedish defense prospect Jonathan Myrenberg, for forward Jack Studnicka.

Matt Porter can be reached at matthew.porter@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyports.