Getty Boston Bruins netminder Linus Ullmark could be traded before the 2025 season.
Falling short of reaching the conference finals for the fifth consecutive season, the Boston Bruins are already transitioning to the offseason and the task to complete before the start of next season.
High on the agenda? Dealing with the goaltender conundrum and trying to move 1B Linus Ullmark to 1A Jeremy Swayman before the 2024 NHL draft takes place next June, per reports.
The Bruins have prioritized making that trade according to sources close to the team, The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa reported on May 19.
“Moving Ullmark before the 2024 NHL Draft is a priority for the Bruins,” Shinzawa wrote. “Trading Ullmark for futures, as the market once projected, could get (Bruins’ General Manager Don Sweeney) and his scouts some much-needed action at the draft table in Las Vegas.”
Linus Ullmark Didn’t Want to Move Mid-Season
As Shinzawa writes in his story, Ullmark was concerned about being traded mid-season. Those issues, however, didn’t have to do with his potential destination, but rather with relocating his family.
“Ullmark expressed reservations about being moved before the March 8 trade deadline, primarily because an in-season deal might have required him to uproot his family,” according to a source close to the Boston Bruins goaltender speaking to Shinzawa.
After reporting that information, Shinzawa noted, “Whether Ullmark would feel the same way about an offseason trade is unknown.”
Fascinating day for #NHLBruins, sounds like they had a deal on the table to move G Linus Ullmark to #LAKings that didn’t end up crossing the finish line.
Both Ullmark and GM Sweeney have not revealed if the netminder executed his no-trade clause last March when Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported on March 8 that the Bruins “had a deal on the table” that “didn’t end up crossing the finish line.”
Ullmark has one season left on his four-year, $20 million contract expiring at the end of the 2024-25 campaign, and he won the Vezina Trophy award as the best NHL goalie in 2023.
Bruins’ Linus Ullmark Opens Up About His Situation & Future
Ullmark, after staying put in Boston, finished the 2023-24 season posting a .915 save percentage over 39 regular-season starts. Swayman, on an ever-increasing role, recorded a .916 save percentage in 43 starts.
Ullmark’s partner in net ended up as one of the key Bruins performers throughout the postseason. Swayman
During the Bruins’ end-of-season media availability on May 19, Ullmark confirmed his reluctance to move his family during the season.
“Everybody’s been so nice and so very caring, lovable,” Ullmark said of Boston and the organization, via NESN. “That makes you feel at home. That makes you want to stay there.”
He further explained the difficulty of uprooting his family midway through the season, saying “If you’re feeling that your life is taken care of, that your family’s well and they’re thriving… you don’t want to uproot them just because.
“I think that goes to anyone that has kids and families. It doesn’t matter what kind of job you have.”
Speaking about his no-trade clause, which includes 16 teams he can block a trade to, Ullmark did not reveal the teams on his list but said, “There’s a reason why it’s there.
“There might be personal things. That’s up to each and every player to have.”
Despite the reported trade rumors, Ullmark expressed his desire to remain with the Bruins for the 2024-25 season, labeling next season as a “revenge tour” of sorts.
“I have one more year,” Ullmark told reporters on May 19. “I wouldn’t want anything else than to come back here. Get a little bit of a revenge tour.”
Swayman will be a restricted free agent on July 1, and trading Ullmark (who will earn $5 million next season, per CapFriendly) would help offset Swayman’s expected salary raise. Swayman is finishing a one-year, $3.475 million contract awarded through arbitration.
“The Bruins need help up front and on the left side of the defense,” Shinzawa wrote. “Improving the team’s struggling offense will be critical.
“Trading Ullmark could be the first step.”