the offseason had not even begun Monday when the Boston Bruins decided to resolve their goaltender dilemma in decisive fashion.
The Bruins traded Linus Ullmark, the 2023 Vezina Trophy winner, to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for goalie Joonas Korpisalo, forward Mark Kastelic and a 2024 first-round draft pick.
It’s a nice haul for the Bruins, who had signed Ullmark to a $20 million contract prior to the 2021-22 season but had replaced him with Jeremy Swayman as their starter midway through the 2023-24 season. Swayman then started 12 of the Bruins’ 13 playoff games and was the favorite to begin the 2024-25 season as the team’s No. 1.
The Bruins declined to comment on the trade, according to the Boston Globe, preferring to let general manager Don Sweeney address it Thursday prior to the NHL draft.
Sweeney issued a statement thanking Ullmark, who formed the tandem with Swayman that succeeded Tuukka Rask as the primary goaltenders in Boston in 2021-22:
Ullmark would start only 39 of the Bruins’ games in 2023-24, going 22-10-7 with a 2.57 GAA and .915 save percentage. Swayman, meanwhile, started 43 games and went 25-10-8 with a 2.53 GAA and .916 save pct.
