Despite rumours, Linus Ullmark is open to the possibility of joining the Leafs
Photo credit: Bob DeChiara - USA Today Sports
Boston Bruins' goaltender Linus Ullmark understands the situation at hand but wants to remain a member of the Bruins despite the constant trade chatter this summer.
The Bruins without a doubt have the best goaltending tandem in the NHL and it's not even up for debate. Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman have propelled a Bruins team that always gets doubted every summer because they lack firepower outside of David Pastrnak, they don't have any legitimate top-line centres, and their offense has slipped in recent memory.
This year Swayman went 25-10-8 with a 2.53 G.A.A. and a .916 SV% while Ullmark went 22-10-7 with a 2.57 G.A.A. and a .915 SV%. They were both phenomenal netminders but as the trade deadline was approaching, the Bruins understood that the tandem might have to broken sooner rather than later. For starters, Swayman was going to be due for a contract extension in the summer and after last year's arbitration debacle, they probably wanted to avoid that this year altogether. Secondly, tandems don't generally work in the playoffs.
It was reported that the Bruins had a deal on the table at the trade deadline that would have sent Ullmark to the Los Angeles Kings but it didn't materialize due to his M-NTC. Rumours were also rampant that the same situation might have arose with the New Jersey Devils and Ottawa Senators as well.
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While the Bruins enter the off-season with a shade over 21 million in projected cap space and a few standout players to re-sign in Swayman and potentially Jake DeBrusk, it makes sense to strike while the iron is hot. Ullmark has one year remaining on his current deal and it seems unlikely that Boston keeps the tandem intact or much longer. They need top-6 talent to help Pastrnak and Brad Marchand and Ullmark could be the perfect trade bait.
Ullmark joined Nick Alberga and Carter Hutton on The Leafs Nation's "Leafs Morning Take" podcast and discussed what it's like dealing with trade chatter, arbitration, and everything in between:
"You know that the team is going to do whatever they need to do to become the very best and prepared for the next season as best as possible and if you're part of that chess player, so to say, where they can utilize you as a trade piece or whatever to become better, they're going to do it and that's just the business side of it all, there's no feelings attached or anything like that, you know this is business related, same thing when you go to arbitration, everything is just business"
Alberga then addressed "the elephant in the room" in asking him about the Maple Leafs goaltending situation and what he thinks about Toronto. He mentions that he would like to remain a member of the Boston Bruins but didn't shoot down the possibility of joining the Maple Leafs if the situation arose:
"Toronto is obviously a contender to the Bruins, I played for Buffalo, you know they're just across the border, there's some emotion there and then we have the Bruins and the history that goes behind that. You can never say never, obviously, there's certain things that you can't control in this life and you never know where you're going to end up sometimes, so for me, I love playing against them and as it is right now, I would love to still play against them as a Bruin."
Ullmark has been nothing short of fantastic in his 3-year tenure with the Bruins. In 130 games for Boston, he's 88-26-10 with a .924 SV% and a 2.28 G.A.A. Even going back to his earlier days in Buffalo, Ullmark sported a .912 SV% in 117 games for a downtrodden Sabres club. His career-high in games played is just 49 but he has the makings of a legitimate number one netminder and will bring about a lot of interest this summer.
The Maple Leafs will assuredly be in the mix for Ullmark should the Bruins finally decide it's time to move on. We've heard a ton of rumours and chatter already but the biggest speed bump is going to be whether or not he will be willing to waive his M-NTC for the Leafs. At the very least he seems interested in the opportunity but with a 15-team no-trade list, the Leafs will have to do a lot of convincing to bring him over.
Previously on MapleLeafsDaily
| POLL |
21 JUIN | 812 ANSWERS Despite rumours, Linus Ullmark is open to the possibility of joining the Leafs Would Linus Ullmark change the fortunes of the Maple Leafs in 2024-25? |
| Yes, he's the perfect compliment to Joseph Woll | 487 | 60 % |
| No, the Maple Leafs have too many holes elsewhere | 325 | 40 % |
| LIST OF POLLS |
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