In the case of B in the net…
Apr 8, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) reacts to goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) after losing to the New Jersey Devils at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)
One of the most common questions I’ve been asked this summer online, on the radio, and in person is why are the Bruins sticking with the two-goal system? Or, alternatively, why didn’t they trade a goaltender?
Well, the simple answer to the latter is that the market just isn’t there yet when it comes to moving a goaltender.
Halfway through his four-year, $20 million contract with the club, Linus UllmarkThe goalie in theory has never been higher than this season after leading the league in wins, goals against average, and save percentage (making him the first goalie Triple Crown winner since Carey Price) heading into to win the Jennings Trophy and Vezina Trophy. Again, that’s in theory. Theory doesn’t always translate into reality, and that’s exactly what happened with the Bruins this summer.
Know their cap situation and how they are doing THERE to lose money, teams eager to destroy the Bruins at every stop and turn. (The fact that they didn’t have to fold to get Taylor Hall’s $6 million salary might be a miracle, though it does explain why the Bruins received two minor league defensemen in exchange for Hall.) Ullmark also has considerable trade protection, with a no-trade clause that requires his consent to be traded for nearly half the league.
My understanding – and this is through some backchannel rumblings and conversations, so take this with a grain of salt, of course – is that there is a team out there that has an interest in giving Sweeney and the Bruins what do you consider a fair, market value return for Ullmark. But that trade required a matching trade that never happened, and Ullmark also had to agree to waive his no-trade clause.
As it relates to trading Jeremy Swayman, I don’t think the Bruins are really interested in doing that. I also know there is a rumor out there that suggests Swayman wants a business closer to family in Alaska. All I can tell you about that is that Swayman’s parents no longer live in Alaska, and that’s gossip and “liar.”
This also brings us to the bigger picture here, which is that the Bruins don’t need to abandon the two goalie system because it could be their backbone in 2023-24. Boston’s scoring punch and depth took an undeniable hit, and so did their center depth. They may need to win games 2-1, 3-2 with less regularity in 2023-24, and what’s the best way to do that? Be well rested, always ready to hit the net with a punch or two.
What they do with that position in the playoffs remains to be seen (I’m totally pro-rotation if this is what they do in the regular season and how they punch their ticket), but for a full 82 , there is no denying that the Ullmark -Swayman combination works.