Getty The Ottawa Senators plan to pursue Linus Ullmark this summer.
The Ottawa Senators will look to address their goalie position for the second straight offseason.
Ottawa signed goalie Joonas Korpisalo to a five-year, $20 million contract on July 1. However, Korpisalo struggled in the first year of his deal, and now Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports that the team will look to trade for Boston Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark.
“After failing in a bid to acquire goaltender Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins at the National Hockey League trade deadline in March, Staios and the club’s hockey operations department are expected to make another pitch before the draft set for June 28-29 in Las Vegas,” Garrioch wrote in his article.
“The Senators, Los Angeles Kings, and New Jersey Devils were among several teams that made a push for the 30-year-old Ullmark before the deadline. The indications are Ullmark refused to change his 15-team no-trade list, which meant a possible deal to the Devils was scuttled,” Garrioch added.
Ullmark is set to enter the final year of his four-year $20 million deal he signed in July of 2021, as he’s set to make $5 million next season.
Last season, Ullmark lost his starting job to Jeremy Swayman in the playoffs after winning the Vezina Trophy, handed to the league’s best goalie the year prior.
Ullmark made just one start in the playoffs, but during the regular season, the Swede was 22-10-7 with a 2.57 goals against average and a .915 save percentage.
As for the Senators goalies, Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg ranked among the worst goalies in the NHL last season. Korpisalo and Forsberg both finished the year with a .890 SV%.
Bruins Hope to Keep Ullmark
Boston’s main priority this season will be re-signing Swayman who is a pending restricted free agent.
Swayman had a 2.15 GAA and a .933 SV% in the playoffs and has solidified himself as one of the top goalies in the NHL. With that, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney says the plan is to re-sign Swayman, as well as hopefully keeping Ullmark, but he isn’t ruling out trading the Swede.
“We’re gonna find a landing spot with Jeremy Swayman (on a contract), and if we can make the math work, we’re going to have the best tandem. If we can’t, we’re going to explore. And for Linus, he may come to us and change his mind, that may occur as well,” Sweeney said, via Ottawa Sun.
“Right now, we were very happy to sign Linus 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.”
If Boston does trade Ullmark, Ottawa is reported to be one of the several teams that will be interested in him.
Ullmark Hopes to Stay in Boston
Despite Swayman likely entering the 2024-25 NHL season as the starting goalie, Ullmark hopes to finish his contract out with the Bruins.
Ullmark has a modified no-movement clause as he has a 15-team no-trade list, meaning he can decline being traded to 15 teams, which he has to give Boston beforehand.
Even though Ullmark will likely be the backup next season, at the year-end interviews, the goalie said he wants to play with the Bruins next season.
“My future here? I got one more year,” Ullmark told the media during exit interviews. “I wouldn’t want anything else than to come back here, get a little bit of a revenge tour. I’m very excited, motivated for what’s to come.”
Ullmark has been with the Bruins since Boston signed him to a four-year, $20 million contract in the summer of 2021.