Boston Bruins trade goaltender Linus Ullmark to Ottawa Senators
BOSTON -- Linus Ullmark's time in Boston has come to an end. The Bruins have traded the veteran goaltender to the Ottawa Senators, Boston general manager Don Sweeney announced Monday night.
In return, the Bruins receive forward Mark Kastelic, goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, and a 2024 first-round draft pick -- the 25th overall selection. The trade ends months of speculation and rumors that Boston would move Ullmark to make way for Jeremy Swayman to become the clear No. 1 goaltender for the 2024-25 NHL season.
Having both Ullmark and Swayman was a luxury for Boston during the regular season, but got a bit dicey when the playoffs arrived in each of the last two years. That luxury was about extremely pricey for the team too, with Swayman due for a much bigger deal in restricted free agency this summer.
The Bruins tried to trade Ullmark to the Los Angeles Kings at last season's trade deadline, but the veteran reportedly nixed the deal with his no-trade clause. He expressed a strong desire to remain in Boston after shooting down the proposed deal.
Boston signed Ullmark to a four-year, $20 million deal in July of 2021, and he went 88-26-10 with a .946 save percentage and 2.28 goals against average over his three regular seasons in Boston. He won the Vezina Trophy in 2022-23 season when he went 40-6-1 and led the league with a .938 save percentage and 1.89 GAA, and was 22-10-7 over his 40 games for the Bruins last season.
Ullmark, however, struggled in the postseason with the Bruins, with a 3-6 record to go with a .887 save percentage and 3.59 GAA in the playoffs. He was benched in favor of Swayman for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Panthers in the 2022-23 postseason, and Swayman won the starting job this past postseason, starting 12 of Boston's 13 playoff games.
Monday's trade lands Boston a physical forward in the 6-foot-4 Kastelic, who had five goals and five assists for Ottawa over 63 games last season. Korpisalo struggled throughout the 2023-24 campaign, going 21-26-4 with an .890 save percentage and a 3.27 GAA for the Senators.
The trade also gives Boston a pick in the first round on Friday night when the 2024 NHL Draft gets underway. The Bruins did not have a pick in the first three rounds prior to Monday's swap. The pick that the Bruins received from Ottawa was once their own, which the team traded to Detroit in 2023 as part of the deal for forward Tyler Bertuzzi.
