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What does goalie shuffle mean for Ullmark? |
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Ty Anderson
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On Wednesday, goalie-hungry general managers decided that they simply couldn’t wait for the Oilers and Panthers to wrap things up, and proceeded with their own timeline, with Jacob Markstrom traded from Calgary to New Jersey and Darcy Kuemper shipped to Los Angeles from Washington.
In the case of Markstrom, the Devils parted with defenseman Kevin Bahl and a top-10 protected pick in 2025, while the Capitals and Kings swung a one-for-one deal that brought Kuemper back to the Kings in exchange for Pierre-Luc DuBois.
What that has to do with the Bruins is a whole lot of nothin’. At least now, anyway.
But prior to those trades, which were consummated within hours of one another in what was a busy transaction day (to the point where you wonder how Gary Bettman felt about the focus being taken away from the ongoing Cup Final), both NJ and LA were looked at as two potential landing spots for Linus Ullmark.
As it stands now, nobody has any clue what the Bruins are going to do with Ullmark. Speaking at player break-up day, Ullmark made it pretty damn clear that he’s not all that interested in leaving the Bruins and that his preference is to stay with the Bruins. Ullmark’s trade protection going from 16 teams to 15 teams in 2024-25 gives him what you’d consider a pretty strong say in making that a reality. And on management's break-up day, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney was a man who left all options on the table when it came to Ullmark. Sweeney talked about running it back with the Ullmark-Swayman tandem, he talked about getting trade calls, and he even talked about the possibility of Ullmark changing his mind when it came to waiving his no-trade clause between now and the summer’s end.
And on June 20, everything remains very much on the table.
But the truth of the matter is that time is ticking, and the Bruins may be running out of what you would consider ‘max return’ dance partners with Ullmark.
As it relates to the Devils, Tom Fitzgerald entered the offseason acknowledging that the Devils needed goaltending, and he was even open about shopping the No. 10 overall pick. It was unclear if those searches ran in tandem or not, but the Devils did ship out a first-round pick to get a Markstrom that is both older and not as accomplished as Boston’s Ullmark, though it was not the No. 10 overall in 2024. The Kings, meanwhile, already tried to make their move for Ullmark and were reportedly denied by Ullmark himself, with the Boston netminder not wanting to move across the country in the middle of the season and leave his family behind. (I also have my doubts that the Bruins were super hot for a guy like Dubois and his baggage as a perennially unhappy talent, but that’s another story for another day.)
So, who’s next?
The natural answer there is Ottawa. The Senators are downright thirsty for NHL-caliber goaltending, and are willing to pay a premium from the sounds of it. The Senators even possess Boston’s natural first-round pick in this year’s draft after Detroit flipped it to the Sens in the Alex DeBrincat trade. The Senators may also be looking to move on from left-shot defenseman Jakob Chychrun. Both the pick and Chychrun — be it together as part of a bigger ‘hockey trade’ or separate — fill needs for the Black and Gold both in the now and long term. But it’s hard to imagine that an Ottawa trade wouldn’t require Ullmark’s approval, and if we’ve learned anything throughout this process, it’s that Ullmark isn’t so keen on leaving the Bruins, and isn’t keen on leaving the Bruins for what one considers a bad team.
Carolina’s name has been brought up when it comes to Ullmark, but that intel seems a bit outdated, as the Hurricanes’ interest in Ullmark came during Frederik Andersen’s absence and uncertainty due to blood clots. There’s also teams like the Red Wings and Avalanche, and while the Sabres have been mentioned as a potential landing spot, I feel relatively comfortable telling you that Ullmark may just full-on retire from the NHL before he goes back to the Sabres organization.
The good news for the Bruins in all of this is that Ullmark should be a talent that fetches a decent return. As noted, he’s younger and has been better than Markstrom, and he just got the Flames a roster player and a first-round pick. It’s no longer crazy to think that the Bruins could get something comparable for Ullmark, even with Markstrom signed for an extra year and at a slightly cheaper number (Ullmark is making $5 million compared to Markstrom’s $4.125 million in NJ).
Sweeney told us all in May that his phone was going to ring. It’s just worth wondering if those calls – and the offers – are starting to tick up or downwards.
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