With Tuukka Rask out for a good chunk of next season after major surgery and Jaroslav Halak now in Vancouver, the Boston Bruins have brought in a new goaltender. Linus Ullmark has signed with the Bruins, leaving the Buffalo Sabres after a long negotiation that stretched all the way into free agency. Ullmark’s new deal with Boston will be a four-year contract worth a total of $20MM.
Beyond the financial increase, which is significant, Ullmark gets a huge competitive upgrade in terms of the team that will be in front of him on a nightly basis. Through the first six seasons of his NHL career, he had been backstopping a Buffalo team that never once finished above .500 or made the playoffs. Despite all that losing for the Sabres in general, Ullmark’s results have actually been relatively strong, posting a 50-47-13 record in his 117 appearances. This season he was responsible for nine of the team’s 15 wins, despite only appearing in 20 games due to injury. He had a .917 during those limited outings, slightly higher than his career .912.
The gamble here by the Bruins is that behind a better structure, Ullmark will not only turn into a viable starting goaltender, but an elite one. The team has committed to a $5MM cap hit through 2024-25, actually tied the 12th-highest among goaltenders in league-wide. Robin Lehner, for instance, signed a five-year $25MM deal less than a year ago coming off two seasons where he finished in the top-6 of Vezina Trophy voting.
Lehner is actually an interesting comparison for Ullmark, because he was the Sabres goaltender that once blocked Ullmark’s path to the NHL. After posting a .916 over 133 games with Buffalo, Lehner immediately broke out after going to a stronger defensive team. He had a .930 in 2018-19 with the New York Islanders, winning the Jennings Trophy and finishing as a Vezina finalist. The numbers between the two during their time in Buffalo are eerily similar, so it makes sense that the Bruins would be hoping for a similar transformation.
Still, Lehner left Buffalo (under admittedly different circumstances) and received just one year and $1.5MM on the open market, essentially having to prove himself all over again with the Islanders. Committing this much money to Ullmark already is certainly a risk for the Bruins. It also begs the question of what will happen when Tuukka Rask is healthy enough to play again, as the assumption was that he would sign with Boston after rehabbing his hip injury. With Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman in place, the team should have enough goaltending to compete. If either one falters, the franchise icon could join the team midseason and help, but if they don’t, it’s unclear where Rask’s future lies.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Wow
Ummm… what is happening?
So I’m guessing Rask may not be back… I don’t see how they have enough money to sign Krejci and Rask now
I think with Rask, they wait and get a timeline on his post-op recovery time and sign him once he’s closer to being able to play. if debrusk is on his way out (it seems it might be the case) why not try and build his value and potentially maximize his return…. debrusk is on the final year of his 2 year deal right?
Good for Linus!
Sucks to see him go though.
I was waiting on the term and AAV to praise this deal as a smart insurance policy with some upside.
THEN…I saw the term and AAV. Uhh…huh?
I thought Swayman and Vladar were the second comings of Roy and Brodeur and Rask was coming back in January?
This is an interesting gamble here.
And did they just spend Krejci’s money on what might well be their 4th best goalie option?
They most certainly did. Foligno for $3.8 AND Ullmark for $5 AND Forbert for $3 AND Haula and Nosek? There’s a lot of overpaying going on here, but the upshot is that they have to get rid of DeBrusk’s contract to have a chance at signing Krejci, and I’m afraid that signing Ullmark to such a contract means they’re writing Rask off entirely.
Damn. Ullmark’s a good goalie, but Rask is a Hall of Famer with plenty in the tank still. And other than that 8-goal game where the Bruins’ top FOUR defensemen were out, Vladar showed great form. This is really looking like Sweeney wanted to grab every shiny new toy he saw.
You’re killing me sweeney!
Has anybody looked at Ullmarks stats or are we just going by his losing record which is 100% out of his control? He is a good goalie and makes Boston a much better team right now.
I mean you’re probably right but I did not think he’d be getting 5 million, more like 2 or 3
100% out of his control?
Every goalie has to make many hard to highlight reel saves in the NHL game in & game out.
No way the Sabres were going to pay Ullmark $6mil+ per to stay. Ullmark has dealt with injuries in his career & I do not blame him for taking that contract. Biggest issue in early FA is that there Is many FAs that get paid more to sign with a team.
A goalie is EXPECTED to make saves & even the best teams lose when their goalies give up soft goals or a lot of goals.
The bruins had a golden opportunity to build from their defense out . They had two young goalies with upside. You give a goalie 5 million a year. Not a wise way to spend the money they had available to spend. Should have went for upgrading there defensive pairings