Player Discussion Linus Ullmark

[UncleRico]

i would keep ullmark & swayman as a tandom. They will need top notch goaltending
next year to make the playoffs.
i believe they will try to move Carlo to free up cap room. His name has popped up in the past.
If bertuzzi is going to be signed it will happen real soon. Sweeney most likely has an offer
on the table for bertuzzi, if July 1st comes around he is good as gone. That is Sweeney's
style, if he wants a player he locks him up a.s.a.p.
He will try to trade one of Forbort or Gryzlyck.
He will listen to offers for Taylor Hall .
i hope bergeron comes back for one more year.
Hathaway & Orlov will be free agents looking for the most $$$$. So both will be gone
as well as Nosek & Foligno.
this is what i hope lineup looks like next season.
BERTUZZI ZACKA PASTRNAK
HALL COYLE FREDERIC
MARCHAND BERGERON LUCIC
LAUKO STEEN LYSALL

McAVOY GRYZLYCK
LINDHOLM CARLO
LOHREI ZBORIL

ULLMARK
SWAYMAN

I just dont think paying two goalies a fair amount of money is a feasible option. Sure you’ll end up being a better regular season team with two top notch goalies, but come playoff time having $4m+ goalie sitting on your bench in the playoffs is a poor allocation of cap space. Nevermind the other healthy scratches or players buried in the minors the team may have.

 

[Phil McKraken]

Even if you go with the “injury excuses his poor performance” then what was the excuse last year?

Well then you're left with a whopping two playoff games, which isn't exactly a sample size you can do anything with. Good regular season players tend to be good playoff performers more often than not. There's certainly a difference, but most of these "playoff performer" narratives are hogwash. Short sample size is why 40 point players can look like world beaters for short stints, and sometimes those stints happen to come in May.

 

[UncleRico]

Well then you're left with a whopping two playoff games, which isn't exactly a sample size you can do anything with. Good regular season players tend to be good playoff performers more often than not. There's certainly a difference, but most of these "playoff performer" narratives are hogwash. Short sample size is why 40 point players can look like world beaters for short stints, and sometimes those stints happen to come in May.

Well unfortunately it is a short sample size in part due to his performances. It’s difficult to get a larger sample sizes when you are allowing over 3.5 goals per game in 8 career playoff games.

 

[dugg133]

I just dont think paying two goalies a fair amount of money is a feasible option. Sure you’ll end up being a better regular season team with two top notch goalies, but come playoff time having $4m+ goalie sitting on your bench in the playoffs is a poor allocation of cap space. Nevermind the other healthy scratches or players buried in the minors the team may have.

Strongly agree on this, especially considering the bruins defensive system generally creates such an ideal situation for goalies to play in. Forget what podcast it was (think it might've been the PDOcast) I was listening to a while ago, but they were taking a bit about how the bruins defense force opponents to the perimeter and prevents high danger chances better then nearly an team in the league. This was particularly true last season when we were playing under Bruce's strict system, we allowed over 1 less high danger chance against per game at 5v5 then the next best team. Even with Monty's more offensive minded system we were still top 10 in the league in that regard. Having Bussi or a vet min guy as the backup wouldn't sink us.

 

[Ladyfan]

He seems like a really really good guy.

Yep...He is.

 

[LouJersey]

Again, we get a report that is who is available, and Linus (Ullmark) was fully available to play. He had something that was going on at the very, very end of the season, but it had cleared up for him to be eligible to play and had he not been, we certainly would have made a different decision. We felt very comfortable all year with the rotation we had and confidence in both goaltenders.”

From Sweeney

 

[BruinDust]

Strongly agree on this, especially considering the bruins defensive system generally creates such an ideal situation for goalies to play in. Forget what podcast it was (think it might've been the PDOcast) I was listening to a while ago, but they were taking a bit about how the bruins defense force opponents to the perimeter and prevents high danger chances better then nearly an team in the league. This was particularly true last season when we were playing under Bruce's strict system, we allowed over 1 less high danger chance against per game at 5v5 then the next best team. Even with Monty's more offensive minded system we were still top 10 in the league in that regard. Having Bussi or a vet min guy as the backup wouldn't sink us.

Those are two very different things.

And your not getting any "Vet minimum" guy worth his salt for well, the league minimum (775k).

Even quality back-up tenders don't come cheap.

As for Bussi. He'll be 25 by the start of camp. If he's pegged as one of the two goaltenders it's because management think he's ready for the job.

He's almost the exact same age and has nearly the exact same numbers this year in the AHL as the goalie who won an elimination game for the Leafs last night and with a 3-year extension and waivers required, he projects to be one of the two Leaf goaltenders next season. In another post, Bussi's AHL numbers are better than Schmid, Kochetkov, and Lyon.

Why can't that be Bussi here for the Bruins in 2023-24?

 

[Hookslide]

i would keep ullmark & swayman as a tandom. They will need top notch goaltending
next year to make the playoffs.
i believe they will try to move Carlo to free up cap room. His name has popped up in the past.
If bertuzzi is going to be signed it will happen real soon. Sweeney most likely has an offer
on the table for bertuzzi, if July 1st comes around he is good as gone. That is Sweeney's
style, if he wants a player he locks him up a.s.a.p.
He will try to trade one of Forbort or Gryzlyck.
He will listen to offers for Taylor Hall .
i hope bergeron comes back for one more year.
Hathaway & Orlov will be free agents looking for the most $$$$. So both will be gone
as well as Nosek & Foligno.
this is what i hope lineup looks like next season.
BERTUZZI ZACKA PASTRNAK
HALL COYLE FREDERIC
MARCHAND BERGERON LUCIC
LAUKO STEEN LYSALL

McAVOY GRYZLYCK
LINDHOLM CARLO
LOHREI ZBORIL

ULLMARK
SWAYMAN

You put a lot of thought ,time and effort into this post ,please don't do it again......

 

[kdog82]

I like Ullmark but I don't think he's as good as his stats showed this year. Trade him while you can.

 

[BMC]

Ullmark: ‘Not Right Thing’ To Make Monty A Bruins ‘Scapegoat’

Perhaps because he’s under fire as well after a very underwhelming playoff performance in the stunning Boston Bruins first round exit at the hands of the Florida Panthers, netminder Linus Ullmark came very strongly to the defense of his head coach after it was all over. There have been...

bostonhockeynow.com

He's an odd duck

He's a goaltender, it goes without saying he's an odd duck. No normal person allows anyone to shoot a hard rubber object traveling up to 100 mph at them.

 

[Hookslide]

I like Ullmark but I don't think he's as good as his stats showed this year. Trade him while you can.

Sell high

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

I like Ullmark but I don't think he's as good as his stats showed this year. Trade him while you can.

Yes, he was that good.

Best regular season of any Bruins goaltender I've witnessed.

 

[PlayMakers]

Goal is really the only area where the Bruins have real depth. The Vezina favorite in Ullmark, one of the best young goalies in the NHL in Swayman, Bussi has emerged as a stud prospect, even Keyser has shown real ability (he just keeps getting injured).

If you‘re forced to do something unpleasant for cap purposes, goal would appear to be the logical place to start.

 

[BruinDust]

Goal is really the only area where the Bruins have real depth. The Vezina favorite in Ullmark, one of the best young goalies in the NHL in Swayman, Bussi has emerged as a stud prospect, even Keyser has shown real ability (he just keeps getting injured).

If you‘re forced to do something unpleasant for cap purposes, goal would appear to be the logical place to start.

If the Washington Capitals had their time back during the summer of 1996 they would gotten a lot more for their 22-year old Vezina winner than they did 9 months later at the 1997 deadline.

I think it's safe to say Ullmark's value will NEVER be higher than it is right now.

Meanwhile the Bruins are facing their biggest cap crunch off-season in the salary cap era. They've been up against it before but nothing like this.

I'm not saying I'd absolutely trade Ullmark but somethings gotta give. If the Bruins make it through this off-season without at least one strong player leaving due to cap constraints it will be a miracle on Causeway Street.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

If the Washington Capitals had their time back during the summer of 1996 they would gotten a lot more for their 22-year old Vezina winner than they did 9 months later at the 1997 deadline.

I think it's safe to say Ullmark's value will NEVER be higher than it is right now.

Meanwhile the Bruins are facing their biggest cap crunch off-season in the salary cap era. They've been up against it before but nothing like this.

I'm not saying I'd absolutely trade Ullmark but somethings gotta give. If the Bruins make it through this off-season without at least one strong player leaving due to cap constraints it will be a miracle on Causeway Street.

Given the cap crunch it's almost a no brainer to deal Ullmark.

Dealing the reigning Vezina winner with 2 more years at low money will net a significant piece. They have a young stud ready to take over and can sign him and a vet backup for what Ullmark is getting freeing up some space

 

[BruinDust]

Given the cap crunch it's almost a no brainer to deal Ullmark.

Dealing the reigning Vezina winner with 2 more years at low money will net a significant piece. They have a young stud ready to take over and can sign him and a vet backup for what Ullmark is getting freeing up some space

I don't want some Journeyman Back-up. Because I do not want them to go back to using one goalie 60+ games and into the playoffs. You'll never win like that unless the guy in net is other-worldly. Even the two years Vasilievsky won those weren't normal 82 game seasons + playoffs. TB fans won't agree but it mattered. He wasn't great in the 2022 finals vs. Colorado. I'd wager fatigue played a big part.

Give me Swayman and Bussi with them alternating the same frequency as Ullmark-Swayman but reversing the roles (Swayman playing slightly more than Bussi)

The Bruins stumbled onto the secret sauce IMO essentially alternating goaltenders. Too bad they tossed the sauce out the window before the playoffs started.

 

[NDiesel]

Goal is really the only area where the Bruins have real depth. The Vezina favorite in Ullmark, one of the best young goalies in the NHL in Swayman, Bussi has emerged as a stud prospect, even Keyser has shown real ability (he just keeps getting injured).

If you‘re forced to do something unpleasant for cap purposes, goal would appear to be the logical place to start.

Bingo PM.

What other position do we have an NHL ready number 1 option (Swayman) and another potential NHL ready prospect?

We really don't have that at any other position...we can HOPE that guys like Lohrei, Lysell and Merkulov can become that, but there's a lot more risk in handing the reins over to those guys and a lot less risk to hand it over to Swayman. Add on that you can actually get some useful pieces for Ullmark and I think it's a no brainer.

Lastly, you can hedge your bet on Bussi by stashing an NHL vet, similar to Kincaid, in the AHL.

 

[BlackFrancis]

I don't want some Journeyman Back-up. Because I do not want them to go back to using one goalie 60+ games and into the playoffs. You'll never win like that unless the guy in net is other-worldly. Even the two years Vasilievsky won those weren't normal 82 game seasons + playoffs. TB fans won't agree but it mattered. He wasn't great in the 2022 finals vs. Colorado. I'd wager fatigue played a big part.

Give me Swayman and Bussi with them alternating the same frequency as Ullmark-Swayman but reversing the roles (Swayman playing slightly more than Bussi)

The Bruins stumbled onto the secret sauce IMO essentially alternating goaltenders. Too bad they tossed the sauce out the window before the playoffs started.

The likely difference between Swayman-Bussi and Ullmark-Bussi is going to wind up around $1m. All matters whether you consider Ullmark to Swayman a downgrade and also the difference in expected trade return for each.

The secret sauce has been around since at least 2009, with Timmy and Rask, and Clode didn't split time in the playoffs between them either. The last time I remember a Bruins team intentionally running a goalie rotation in the playoffs was Moog and Reggie, and I don't recall that working out, though I'm sure I'm forgetting others.

 

[BruinDust]

The likely difference between Swayman-Bussi and Ullmark-Bussi is going to wind up around $1m. All matters whether you consider Ullmark to Swayman a downgrade and also the difference in expected trade return for each.

The secret sauce has been around since at least 2009, with Timmy and Rask, and Clode didn't split time in the playoffs between them either. The last time I remember a Bruins team intentionally running a goalie rotation in the playoffs was Moog and Reggie, and I don't recall that working out, though I'm sure I'm forgetting others.

I can't recall any NHL team in recent history essentially alternating goaltenders throughout a full season the way the Bruins did last year. They certainly didn't do it during Claude Julien's time outside a brief period Oct/Nov. 2008 when they were giving both Fernandez and Thomas roughly equal starts. Julien always rode his perceived No.1 guy hard, sometimes to his detriment.

For my money, Swayman and Ullmark are pretty much on par with each other.

I'm not trying to be the smartest guy in the room or anything. But I think the hockey world needs to stop looking at goaltenders they way they always have been and start looking at them more like pitchers in baseball in terms of managing workloads. Goalies burn so much energy now tracking the puck when it's in their zone I don't think you can run the same guy night after night. It's not really about how many shots they face. And game is so fast they can't afford to rest much while the puck is going the other way. Far different than when goalies faced much more rush chances and got quick breaks in between while the puck went the other way. Then combine that with the icing rules allowing for more offensive zone time, and I think being an NHL goaltender is far more taxing today despite huge advances in equipment weight.

I also think that the depth of goaltending skill is far deeper now than at any point in history. Just look at the number of "3rd stringers" who have had success this year.

That being said, team defensive play is a big factor. Defensive break-downs and turnovers by the D-men had more to do with the Panthers victory than Bruins goaltenders did. Some of the shots now with today's stick technology, goalies simply aren't humanly capable of reacting in time. A quick flick of the wrist now and 4th liners are wiring pucks like they were the 2nd coming of Joe Sakic. See Verhaeghe, Carter in Game 7.

 

[chizzler]

Never stopped the old goalies who were dominating and to boot, they played with way heavier equipment.

 

[StrBender]

He's a goaltender, it goes without saying he's an odd duck. No normal person allows anyone to shoot a hard rubber object traveling up to 100 mph at them.

Are you saying that I'm not mentally fit? I was a goalie from the late '60s to 1980. When I started there were still NHL goalies like Gump Worsley who played without wearing a mask! Now that I think about it, yeah I could be a little crazy after all!

 

[SanDogBrewin]

 

[Phil McKraken]

Well unfortunately it is a short sample size in part due to his performances. It’s difficult to get a larger sample sizes when you are allowing over 3.5 goals per game in 8 career playoff games.

But two without injuries as you said. Though even if it was eight, it obviously wouldn't be enough. The reason for a particular sample size doesn't make it more useful.

 

[UncleRico]

But two without injuries as you said. Though even if it was eight, it obviously wouldn't be enough. The reason for a particular sample size doesn't make it more useful.

Two abominations of series in a row is more than enough sample size for me to not risk a third playoff run with Ullmark in net.

Getting paid $5m a year against the cap to be a healthy scratch at the end of every playoff series is not an ideal allocation of cap space.

Also his injury is nothing more than fan speculation. There was one report he was injured and it got very quickly retracted, on top of it no Bruins are getting surgery.

What was his injury a bruised ego?

 

[Phil McKraken]

Two abominations of series in a row is more than enough sample size for me to not risk a third playoff run with Ullmark in net.

Getting paid $5m a year against the cap to be a healthy scratch at the end of every playoff series is not an ideal allocation of cap space.

Also his injury is nothing more than fan speculation. There was one report he was injured and it got very quickly retracted, on top of it no Bruins are getting surgery.

What was his injury a bruised ego?

But it's if he's injured, that's two healthy games in total.

You buy too much into this regular season vs playoffs voodoo stuff.