Why Bruins should run it back with Ullmark-Swayman tandem in 2023-24
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Why Bruins should run it back with Ullmark-Swayman tandem in 2023-24 originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston]]>
The Boston Bruins won’t have as much depth and talent in the 2023-24 NHL season as they did last year. It’s just not possible with the salary cap crunch the team is facing.
The Bruins have a little less than $5 million in cap space, per CapFriendly, and more than 10 of their own players eligible for unrestricted or restricted free agency. Bringing everybody back isn’t going to happen. In fact, a few players might need to be traded or bought out for the Bruins to field a full roster and get under the salary cap, which is projected to be $83.5 million in 2023-24 — just a $1 million increase from last season.
One player the Bruins could potentially trade to free up cap space is starting goalie Linus Ullmark, who has a $5 million cap hit for two more seasons, plus a no-trade clause (details here).
His value might never be higher than it is right now after a Vezina Trophy-worthy regular season during which he became just the seventh goalie triple crown winner for leading the league in wins, save percentage and goals against average (GAA). The odds of him repeating his .938 save percentage and 1.89 GAA are not high. That doesn’t mean he won’t be a top-tier goalie again, but before the 2022-23 campaign he had never posted a save percentage above .917 in a full season.
The Bruins have strong organizational depth at goaltender, too. Ullmark is very good, backup Jeremy Swayman is a top 15 goalie himself, and Providence Bruins (AHL) netminder Brandon Bussi shows promise as well.
So, why wouldn’t the Bruins deal Ullmark and use their strength in net to create cap space that can be used to address areas of weakness on the roster?
Well, if the Bruins want to remain a contender in the Eastern Conference next season, they’re going to need elite goaltending. The last 15 years represent one of the most successful periods in team history. During that span, the Bruins have…
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