Boston Bruins goalie and 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark is reportedly drawing interest from six enticing teams heading into the offseason.
Linus Ullmark had another excellent season in Beantown, but Jeremy Swayman’s career year led to him taking over as the new No. 1 goalie. Ullmark is five years older (31 in July) and entering the final year of his contract, so Boston is expected to shop him as they hand the full-time reigns over to Swayman.
According to a report from Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, six teams may be in on the Ullmark sweepstakes, including three teams who reached the postseason:
The Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes are among the teams that expressed interest in Ullmark during the season – we know the Kings and Sens pitched offers before the trade deadline – and I’ve got to think all four clubs will reach out this summer, if they haven’t already. The Edmonton Oilers and Detroit Red Wings could reach out next month, too.
Five of the six teams listed above are in desperate need of a goaltending upgrade. The Edmonton Oilers are in the Western Conference Finals with the Stuart Skinner-Calvin Pickard tandem, so GM Ken Holland might be keen to retain this duo following another deep postseason run.
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But the Kings and Hurricanes were undone by inconsistent goaltending in their playoff series losses to the Oilers and New York Rangers, respectively. New Jersey, Ottawa and Detroit all ranked in the bottom nine in goals against average, with the Sens having a league-low .888 save percentage, per ESPN.
Fortunately for these six clubs, the Bruins’ unique circumstances may force GM Don Sweeney to trade away a top-10 goalie this offseason. And with only one year left on his deal, it might not cost much to acquire Ullmark.
Linus Ullmark Largely Controls His Next Destination
The 2023 Vezina Trophy winner has a no-trade clause which allows him to nix trades to 16 of the league’s 32 teams. So the bad news for several goalie-needy teams is that Ullmark has significant control on his next landing spot.
Last season, Ullmark went 22-10-7 in the regular season with a 2.57 goals against average, .915 save percentage and two shutouts. The year before, he led the league in wins (40), save percentage (.938) and GAA (1.89).
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