After reports emerged yesterday that Bruins netminder Linus Ullmark nixed a trade to the Kings via his 16-team no-trade clause, GM Don Sweeney told reporters that he “wasn’t that aggressive” about moving his 2023 Vezina Trophy winner (via Matt Porter of the Boston Globe). Nonetheless, it doesn’t appear Los Angeles was the only team Sweeney spoke to about moving out half of the league’s best tandem. Multiple clubs not on Ullmark’s no-trade list engaged in discussions about the netminder and are likely to circle back over the summer, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on “Saturday Headlines.”
Ullmark, 30, will remain with the Bruins through the end of the season and the playoffs, but the likelihood of him finishing out his current deal in Boston seems to be diminishing as interest continues to rise. He carries a $5MM cap hit through next season and will be a UFA in the summer of 2025. His 16-team no-trade list will downgrade to a 15-team list on July 1.
The start counter between him and creasemate Jeremy Swayman remains relatively even, although his counterpart has a slight edge, 35-30. Ullmark’s numbers are far worse than last season’s league-leading performance, although still significantly above average with a .909 SV%, 2.77 GAA, and 9.4 goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck. It’s becoming clear that Swayman, among the league’s best with a .922 SV%, will be their starter to begin the postseason.
Boston needs to free up some money for what will likely be a long-term extension for Swayman over the summer. A pending RFA with arbitration rights, Sweeney would love to avoid an arbitration scenario with Swayman for a second straight year. He carries a $3.475MM cap hit this season but will command a significant raise after wrestling away the starting role from Ullmark.
The Bruins have $22.5MM in projected cap space next season with a roster size of 15, so their flexibility isn’t zero. If they want to go big-game hunting in free agency to address their deficiency at center and continuously thinning overall forward depth, though, freeing up Ullmark’s $5MM would be a wise move. They’d also capitalize on his trade value over the offseason rather than as a deadline rental next year, as teams would be willing to pay more for a full year of his services rather than a few months and a playoff run.
Rob failed to get it done. Should have had a Plan B.
Reports out of Boston is that the Kings were NOT the team to which he blocked the trade.
Who was the team??
I read someplace earlier today that it was likely the Avs…. but I can’t find that article now to verify, so I might be on crack.
I read it was New Jersey
Don’t patronize us Don.
Ullmark’s been a great goalie, and we don’t know yet whether Swayman can handle a 55-60 game load. But it’s tough to argue with the logic, Linus is already over 30, and unless he declines precipitously someone’s going to offer him a boatload of money to jump in 2025.
They should’ve waived him before the deadline if that was an option. He’s not a playoff goalie. Surplus to requirements. He’s Vladar for more money. Worst case they waive him and get Kuznetsov.
The cap availability is going to be a bit better than what’s advertised here. I could be wrong, but I calculated $24,062,500 coming off the books (this includes the bonus overage penalty they had against the cap this year). This also doesn’t include the expected cap increase of $4-$5 million, so realistically the Bruins should have around $29 million in cap space with 16 players under contract for next season. Have to figure too guys like Beecher and Lysell could make the squad.
I should also add there is the $1,333,334 penalty next season for the Reilly buy out.
Seems like that figure may include minor-league players, who don’t count against the salary cap. The combined cap hits of currently-rostered players on CapFriendly, including those on LTIR, is $19.5MM. CapFriendly’s projected figure also includes a projected cap increase to $87.5MM.
They’re also exceeding the cap by about $1.8MM right now because of LTIR, so any deductions for next season’s projected cap space start from a figure around $85.3MM, not $83.5MM.
Misread your original comment too, you’re bang-on with the $24MM with the bonus overage coming off the books. My bad!