Given the number of teams in need of reinforcements between the pipes, trading Ullmark could be a viable scenario for the Bruins.
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In
his last meeting with the media May 22, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney pushed back against the assertion that No. 1 goaltenders dangled on the trade market tend to be a depressed asset in terms of the return.
“I’d disagree. I think that goaltenders trade hands,” Sweeney said. “In [one] draft scenario, I think one went for 9 overall one year. So it’s really what teams need and what the market will bear, and ultimately it comes down to supply and demand. What a team wants and what you might have, ultimately, that generally shapes the trade market.”
Sweeney was referencing the Canucks securing the No. 9 pick in the 2013 draft (which they used on center Bo Horvat) from the Devils in exchange for promising netminder Cory Schneider.
It was a prime example of a team making the most of an abundance of riches at one spot and acquiring a building block for the future.
Of course, that swap was more than a decade ago. But with the Bruins likely
weighing options for Linus Ullmark this summer, could the 2023 Vezina Trophy winner net them a blue-chip prospect?
Given the number of teams in need of reinforcements between the pipes, it could be a viable scenario.
The Senators
have been linked to the Bruins, with their .884 team save percentage ranking 31st out of 32 teams in 2023-24.
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun,
citing a league executive, “believes the Senators would likely have to offer defenceman Jakob Chychrun along with a first-round pick and another selection to acquire Ullmark.”
While a top-four defenseman like Chychrun on top of draft capital for Ullmark might seem like a steep price to pay, the Senators do have two first-round picks — with the latter (No. 25) originally owned by the Bruins.
That pick was first acquired by the Red Wings in the trade for Tyler Bertuzzi in March 2023, but Detroit shipped it to the Senators as part of the Alex DeBrincat deal four months later.
But what about that No. 7 pick?
Speaking at a season ticket-holder event last week, Senators senior vice president Dave Poulin acknowledged that Ottawa has had discussions with teams.
“We had interest in the pick,” Poulin said,
per the Ottawa Citizen. “Teams will call you and say, ‘Are you interested in moving the pick?’ and you don’t know what that’s going to look like because you don’t know what’s going to be available there. You have to stay very flexible.”
If the Senators are willing to play ball, a Bruins team short on high-end talent in their prospect pipeline definitely would be interested.
The main hurdle in any deal would be the no-trade protection that Ullmark has; a rebuilding team like Ottawa is not exactly a squad that players in high demand are lining up to join.
One potential landing spot that wouldn’t have that problem came off the board Wednesday. New Jersey, an East Coast team primed to contend if they address a deficiency in net, traded for Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom.
The Bruins are not in possession of a first-round pick this year, and they also didn’t select in the first round in 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2023.
With talented centers Cayden Lindstrom, Tij Iginla, and Berkly Catton expected to be within that top 10 range, the Bruins could bolster a pressing need with talent down the middle.
Signing a top-six center such as Elias Lindholm certainly would move the needle for the Bruins in 2024-25, but if they are realistically trying to add an 80-plus-point franchise center for the long haul, the more realistic avenue is through the draft.
And if they are looking to make the most out of moving a top asset like Ullmark, a top 10 selection might be the best haul they’re going to get.