Will Senators pursue Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark before NHL Draft?
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Will Senators pursue Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark before NHL Draft? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
NHL teams in need of an upgrade at the goaltender position would be wise to give Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney a call over the next month.
The Bruins have two of the league’s top 15 goalies in Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark. Keeping this tandem could get pretty expensive this offseason, though, as Swayman is eligible for a new contract as a restricted free agent.
If the Bruins and Swayman work out a long-term extension with a salary cap hit of $5 million or above, the team would be using up $10-plus million of salary cap space on goalies for the 2024-25 campaign. Ullmark has one year left on his contract with a $5 million cap hit. That would be a lot of money tied up at the goaltender position, especially for a team like the Bruins that has several roster weaknesses to address in the offseason.
Swayman is coming off an amazing run in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs during which the 25-year-old star established himself as the franchise’s clear-cut No. 1 netminder.
The ideal outcome for the B’s would be to trade Ullmark before next season. Such a deal could net the Bruins valuable cap space and/or other assets like draft picks or prospects.
Which teams could pursue an Ullmark trade? Keep an eye on a division rival, the Ottawa Senators.
“After failing in a bid to acquire goaltender Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins at the NHL trade deadline in March, (Senators GM Steve) Staios and the club’s hockey operations department are expected to make another pitch before the draft set for June 28-29 in Las Vegas,” Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun wrote last week.
“The Senators, Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils were among several teams that made a push for the 30-year-old Ullmark before the deadline.”
Ullmark has a 16-team no trade list in his contract, and it changes to a 15-team list in 2024-25, per CapFriendly. Therefore, Ullmark has some control over…
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