The Boston Bruins began the offseason with a variety of options in their search to trade goalie Linus Ullmark. But in just one afternoon, those options quickly dissipated as two teams reportedly interested in Ullmark found their solutions in goal elsewhere on Wednesday.
As the pressure escalates with time running out to maximize the return they receive for Ullmark, the Bruins may have a lifeline in the Ottawa Senators.
Shortly after the goalie market dried up yesterday, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen reported the Senators are intensifying their efforts to swing a deal with the Bruins for the former Vezina Trophy-winning netminder.
“League sources say that Steve Staios, the Senators’ president of hockey operations and general manager, has been making a hard push to try to acquire Ullmark,” wrote Garrioch. “The Senators had already stepped up their efforts to acquire goaltender Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins, [and] Ottawa may now be the last serious team in the mix.”
Even as perhaps the last team legitimately interested in acquiring Ullmark, the Senators will need to provide Bruins general manager Don Sweeney with a serious offer to get a deal done.
What would such a deal look like? Here are some pieces the Bruins will likely ask for and probably demand from Ottawa.
Jakob Chychrun:
One of the biggest needs for the Bruins this offseason is a left-handed defenseman, and they could add one by acquiring Jakob Chychrun from the Senators.
It’s been just a little over a year since the Senators traded away three draft picks to pick up Chychrun, but are now putting him back on the market with one season remaining on his current contract.
The former 16th overall pick hasn’t developed into the top-flight defenseman that many projected him to be when he was drafted eight years ago. Still, at 26 and just now entering his prime, he is very much worthy of a top-four role. Effective at both ends of the ice, Chychrun would make for a reliable partner next to either Charlie McAvoy or Brandon Carlo on the Bruins’ blue line while playing minutes on both special teams units.
The Bruins would certainly like some sort of guarantee that Chychrun is willing to stay in Boston for the foreseeable future, but an extension will likely be an issue they’d address next summer.
