Huge One: Bruins decision on trading Linus Ullmark

The New Jersey Devils’ purchase of Jacob Markstrom last week elevates Linus Ullmark of the Boston Bruins to the top goaltender in this summer’s NHL trade market.

The 30-year-old Vezina Trophy winner has one year left on his deal, with a $5 million cap hit and a 16-team no-trade list.

According to Postmedia, the Ottawa Senators have revived their interest in Ullmark. They attempted to acquire him prior to the trade deadline, offering Joonas Korpisalo in exchange. The Bruins are alleged to have declined because they couldn’t afford to pay the remaining $16 million on Korpisalo’s deal over the following four seasons.

According to the report, the Boston Bruins may be interested in Shane Pinto. However, the Senators will not part with the 23-year-old center. Meanwhile, Sportsnet’s Wayne Scanlan speculated that Jakob Chychrun could be part of Ullmark’s comeback. Elliotte Friedman, Scanlan’s colleague, believes that the Senators are on Ullmark’s no-trade list. He believes the Bruins would be hesitant to sell him to a division opponent.

Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that if the Senators and Bruins reach an agreement, the goaltender may accept to travel to Ottawa. Meanwhile, The Hockey News’ Julian Gaudio noted a second Postmedia report suggesting that the Detroit Red Wings and Vegas Golden Knights are also looking into Ullmark. The contract with Ullmark has been a source of contention. Friedman believes that if teams are willing to pay the Bruins’ high asking price, they would prefer to sign the goaltender to a contract extension.

He pointed out that Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman has stated that he is purchasing an older goalie who will only be a temporary solution. Other interested clubs may share this viewpoint. Vegas’ alleged interest in Ullmark is perplexing. They already have a promising combination in Adin Hill and Logan Thompson, who have one year left on their contracts. The Golden Knights have minimal cap space and are attempting to re-sign pending free agent winger Jonathan Marchessault.

Hill has a budget cost of $4.9 million and may be dealt to free up pay for Marchessault’s new contract, but the Golden Knights cannot afford Ullmark. This works only if they don’t re-sign Marchessault and instead try to trade Hill for Ullmark. That is unlikely to intrigue the Bruins, considering both goalies’ cap hits are practically identical.