What trading Linus Ullmark got the Boston Bruins
BOSTON -- Goalie hugs are no more in Boston, as the Bruins pulled off a long-awaited trade of Linus Ullmark on Monday. Trading the 30-year-old Ullmark to Ottawa clears a path for Jeremy Swayman to take over as the Bruins' top goalie -- but at what cost?
In return for breaking up the best goalie tandem, the Bruins received goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, forward Mark Kastelic, and the 25th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. It's likely not the bounty the Bruins expected to get for the 2022-23 Vezina Trophy winner, but Don Sweeney got the first-round pick that he sought for moving on from Ullmark.
But he had to pay a pretty hefty price, bringing in Korpisalo and the remaining four years of his contract. Here's a breakdown of what the Bruins received in return for Ullmark.
Joonas Korpisalo was one of the worst goaltenders in the NHL last season
It looks like the only way Sweeney and the Bruins were going to land one of Ottawa's first-round picks (the Senators also own the 7th overall selection) was by taking on Korpisalo and the four years left on his contract. The Senators are paying a quarter of it, but the Bruins will still have to pay $3 million annually for a goalie that struggled to stop pucks in 2023-24.
Koprisalo, 30, went just 21-26-4 with a .890 save percentage (ranking 51st out of 54 goalies last season) and a 3.27 goals against average for Ottawa last season. For his nine-year career, he has a .901 save percentage and 3.06 GAA.
Maybe the Bruins believe that having a capable defense in front of Korpisalo will help him get back on track. Having goalie coach Bob Essensa should help too. A good season could repair Korpisalo's value around the league, and perhaps the Bruins can move on from him a year from now. A buyout is also an option, but that would cost Boston $8 million over eight years.
He was an expensive addition, and when you add in Kastelic's $835,000 salary to the $3 million the Bruins will have to pay Korposalo, the team only saves $1.165 million in cap space from this trade. Landing a draft pick and clearing cap space were the two goals of an Ullmark trade, and Sweeney only really accomplished one of them with this move.
Bruins add a fourth-line center in Mark Kastelic
In Kastelic, the Bruins added a bottom-six forward who could center their fourth line. He's 6-foot-3 and will bring some physicality and speed to the mix, which could spell the end for Pat Maroon's days in Boston.
Kastelic was a fifth-round pick by Ottawa in 2019, and has 14 goals and 11 assists over 144 career games during his three seasons in the NHL. He had five goals and five assists for the Senators last season.
The Bruins have a first-round pick for the first time in three years
Sweeney will now be picking in the first round for the first time since 2021, when he drafted Fabian Lysell at 21st overall. That is unless he includes the pick in a trade package to land a top-line center or another wing that can put the puck in the net.
If the B's do keep the pick to add to their abysmal prospect pool, a center will likely be the target for Sweeney when the draft gets underway Friday night. A higher pick would have given Boston a better chance to hit on the pick, but things worked out pretty well the last time the B's held the 25th pick and drafted some guy named David Pastrnak in 2014.
