The Ottawa Senators are making a strong push to acquire Boston Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark, with discussions between the two teams heating up. League sources confirmed to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen that the Senators have regularly talked with the Bruins regarding Ullmark. NHL Network’s David Pagnotta added that Ullmark is willing to waive his no-movement clause for Ottawa.
Linus Ullmark ➡️ Ottawa? 👀 https://t.co/g8vtOKAdpt pic.twitter.com/KiikpGVT9l
— theScore (@theScore) June 20, 2024
A potential trade could involve the Senators offering defenseman Jakob Chychrun, a first-round pick, and another selection to secure Ullmark, according to a league executive cited by Garrioch.
This aggressive move by Ottawa comes after their recent unsuccessful pursuit of Jacob Markstrom, who was traded from the Calgary Flames to the New Jersey Devils. The Senators, struggling with the league’s worst save percentage of .888 last season, are eager to bolster their goaltending. Joonas Korpisalo, signed last offseason to a five-year, $20-million contract, underperformed with an .890 save percentage. Additionally, Anton Forsberg is under contract for one more year with a $2.75-million cap hit. It is believed the Senators would be willing to part with Forsberg to make a goaltending upgrade.
Despite initial interest, the Bruins showed no enthusiasm for including Korpisalo in a package for Ullmark. Ottawa has also explored acquiring Juuse Saros from the Nashville Predators.
Does Ullmark Make Sense for the Senators?
The goaltender recently said he’d like to stay with the Bruins, but he knows he can’t completely control where he winds up if Boston is keen to make a trade. Ullmark, who lost the Bruins’ starting goalie position to Jeremy Swayman, has one year remaining on his contract with a $5-million cap hit. He played only one of Boston’s 13 playoff games last season.
The Bruins nearly traded Ullmark to the Los Angeles Kings at the 2024 deadline, but Ullmark exercised his no-trade clause to block the move. If he wouldn’t do that with the Senators, the pieces to make a deal are certainly there.
With Ottawa possessing the 7th and 25th overall picks in this year’s draft, the Bruins might negotiate for the latter. An Ullmark trade seems likely, but the specifics of what the Senators are willing to give up remain uncertain. A deal involving Chychrun appears feasible. If the trade proceeds, the Bruins could enhance their defense and continue to build around Swayman as their top goaltender.
