Getty The Bruins could trade Linus Ullmark to the Hurricanes in exchange for Martin Necas.
The Boston Bruins made clear their “phone is going to ring” this offseason when dealing with their goalie rotation.
Virtual backup netminder Linus Ullmark has been in endless trade rumors since the last trade deadline with Jeremy Swayman solidifying his starting status during the 2024 regular season and playoffs.
Carolina Hurricanes forward Martin Necas also seems poised to leave his team via trade before the 2024-25 season.
Pierre LeBrun of the Athletic reported on May 27 that Necas is bound to relocate in the 2024 summer, writing, “My money’s on Necas likely moving this summer.”
Elliotte Friedman echoed similar feelings on May 24 appearing on the Jeff Marek Show, and his co-host Jeff Marek highlighted the Bruins as a potential trade candidate for Necas if they send Ullmark to Carolina.
Friedman on Necas/Boston (TJMS): “What does Boston have that Carolina would want?”
Marek: “One of the obvious ones is Linus Ullmark, who has one more year left on term and the contingency there is to waive the NTC and to extend”
EF: “Yes, that is true”
“One of the obvious ones is Linus Ullmark, who has one more year left on term, and the contingency there is to waive the NTC and to extend,” Marek said on June 5 when asked by Friedman about players that might interest the Hurricanes in a potential Necas trade.
Ullmark won the Vezina Trophy winner in the 2023 season and is entering the final year of his contract. He will earn $5 million through the 2024-25 season before becoming an unrestricted free agent.
Necas will be a restricted free agent on July 1, but it’s not clear if he will reach a deal for an extension with the Hurricanes. That’s even though the franchise will have the right to match any offer submitted for their forward.
Martin Necas ‘Fairly Unique’ Skillset Could Help Bruins
The Hurricanes might be about to lose a “fairly unique” talent in Necas if he leaves at some point before the 2025 season.
That’s how Reyan Henkel of The Hockey News described the forward in his end-of-season “State of the Roster” review of the Canes’ pending restricted free agents on June 3.
“Necas’ skillset is something that is fairly unique in Carolina as no other player plays the way he does,” Henkel wrote. “He’s a zone-entry machine, able to race through the neutral and attacking zone with ease and he’s developed a really explosive shot.”
NECAS GETS THE CANES WITHIN ONE 👀
The Bruins need to improve their top-six forward corps if they want to truly contend for the Stanley Cup while maximizing the last seasons of captain Brad Marchand.
Boston employed Morgan Geekie and Charlie Coyle as the first-line and second-line centers in 2024, per Daily Faceoff. While Coyle produced a solid 60 points (25 goals, 35 assists), Geekie fell short of that role’s expectations with 39 points (17 goals, 22 assists).
“When the ice opens up, he becomes such a dynamic player and can really showcase that speed and shot, Henkel wrote.
I’ll be very surprised if Martin Necas plays for Carolina in the next season. As his dad said, Martin wants to play in 1st line & 1st PP unit. His dad even said in an interview for @DenikSport: ,,Martin wants to be traded.” In my eyes, Necas is a great offensive winger.
Necas, coincidentally, is looking to become a daily center in his next team after the Hurricanes mostly used him on the wing. Even then, Necas scored 53 points (24 goals, 29 assists) in 77 regular-season games in 2024. Necas added 9 points in 11 postseason contests.
After the New York Rangers eliminated the Canes from the playoffs, Necas’ father Martin claimed his son wanted to be traded because he wanted to play in the first line and the first power-play unit.
Linus Ullmark Days With Bruins Seem To Be Numbered
Trading two top-quality players has happened fairly often in the NHL with that type of one-for-one transaction known as a “hockey trade.”
Moving a top-tier forward for an elite goalie on a straight swap, however, isn’t that frequent. It might not matter in this scenario as this trade could benefit both franchises. Ullmark would need to approve the trade, though, as he owns a partial no-trade clause that includes 16 teams in his deal.
Ullmark posted a 39-22-10 with a 2.57 GAA in the 2024 regular season. However, the netminder only started (and lost) one postseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 23 with Swayman clearly taking the reins of the Bruins net in the postseason and going forward.
Although Ullmark is under contract for the 2024-25 season and said on May 19 that he wants to stay in Boston. Ullmark’s opinion could change if the Bruins shrink his role even more in 2025.
Bruins GM Don Sweeney, speaking to reporters at the end-of-season media availability on May 22, said it’s “a priority now” to re-sign Swayman, whose contract is expiring on July 1.
“It’s clearly a priority, and Jeremy knows,” Sweeney said. “We’re going to find a landing spot with Jeremy Swayman and if we can make the math work, we’re going to have the best tandem,” Sweeney said about potentially keeping Ullmark too.
However, the GM made clear he will “explore opportunities” regarding Ullmark.
“Right now, [Ullmark] is really happy. We were very happy to sign Linus,” Sweeney said. “And in a perfect world, we would keep the tandem. Because I think it’s damn good. But we’re going to explore opportunities.
“My phone’s going to ring. I’m going to make calls. That’s just what the job requires.”
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Trade Proposal Gets Bruins ‘Fairly Unique’ Center for Linus Ullmark