The goalie hug isn’t any extra in Boston.
The Bruins traded netminder Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators on Monday night, with Boston getting again the twenty fifth general choose within the 2024 NHL Draft, ahead Mark Kastelic, and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo.
Ottawa will retain 25% of Korpisalo’s wage, with the 30-year-old netminder presently beneath contract via the 2027-28 season. With the Senators retaining cash on the deal, Korpisalo will account for a $3 million annual cap hit shifting ahead for Boston.
There isn’t a extension presently in place between Ullmark — a free agent in 2025 — and the Senators, in line with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. That lack of a long-term deal might need hindered a number of the return that the Bruins have been hoping to safe for a goalie who has a Vezina Trophy on his resume.
Signed as a free agent throughout the 2021 offseason, Ullmark developed into the most effective goalies within the NHL over his three seasons in Boston. In his 130 profession video games with the Bruins, Ullmark went 88-26-10 with a .924 save share and 5 shutouts — taking residence the 2022-23 Vezina Trophy because the league’s high goalie.
Along with Jeremy Swayman, Ullmark helped type arguably the league’s finest goalie tandem. However with Swayman due a hefty new contract this offseason — coupled along with his stellar play within the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs — the writing was on the wall that Ullmark’s time in Boston was coming to a detailed
Regardless that Ullmark largely break up reps with Swayman all through the 2023-24 common season, he in the end solely began certainly one of Boston’s 13 playoff video games this spring — with Swayman’s efficiency towards each Toronto and Florida conserving him between the pipes for many of that run.
“That is the factor about enjoying skilled sports activities, one of many hardest issues is to be off to the facet, since you need the group to succeed, however you need it to succeed with you as nicely,” Ullmark stated of his restricted reps throughout the playoffs throughout his final media availability with the Bruins. “So it’s positively one of many hardest issues, however I wasn’t alone in it.
“Clearly there’s different guys that needed to play as nicely. I assumed that having the help system that I’ve and in addition having the conversations that I had with folks round it… I felt that I did what I might, I did what wanted to be finished, I attempted to hold myself very professionally and help each single certainly one of my fellow teammates all through this stretch.”
Whereas Ullmark might need been considered as a luxurious on the Bruins in 2024-25 when factoring in Swayman’s subsequent deal, the return for Boston on Monday does elevate just a few eyebrows — specifically with Korpisalo.
Boston did handle to get again into the primary spherical of the 2024 NHL Draft by plucking that No. 25 general choose from Ottawa — permitting the Bruins so as to add an intriguing prospect to their pipeline of younger expertise.
That No. 25 choose is definitely Boston’s personal first-round choose, which has traded arms over the previous couple of seasons. Boston’s first-round choose was first acquired by the Purple Wings within the commerce involving Tyler Bertuzzi in March 2023, however Detroit shipped it to the Senators as a part of the Alex DeBrincat deal 4 months later.
Kastelic, 25, appeared in 63 video games throughout the 2023-24 season with Ottawa, recording 5 factors and 5 assists for 10 factors. He ought to add some heft to Boston’s bottom-six unit, with the 6-foot-3 ahead rating third in penalty minutes (63) and fourth in hits (126) for Ottawa final season.
However Korpisalo — even with a diminished cap hit — is a puzzling add for Boston. One of many main perks for Boston shifting Ullmark was going to be the extra cap financial savings, permitting Boston to additional handle different deficiencies on the roster.
However as an alternative of liberating up $5 million by shifting Ullmark’s contract off the books, it’s now solely $2 million with Korpisalo in place.
And despite the fact that Korpisalo may very well be lined up as Swayman’s backup shifting ahead, the Bruins did have a less expensive different in Brandon Bussi — or a free-agent netminder accessible for a greater worth.
Korpisalo was one of many worst goalies within the NHL final season, sporting an .890 save share over 55 video games with the Senators.
Loading…