Ullmark Realizes He May Be Traded From Bruins

Boston Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark knows that his days with the Boston Bruins may very well be numbered.

“It’s crossed my mind, yeah. I mean, I’m not going to lie, that’s the business part of it,” Ullmark told the media in Nashville on Sunday. “That’s what we live in.”

Ullmark is in Nashville for the NHL Awards ceremony on Monday, where Ullmark is a finalist and the favorite for the Vezina Trophy. After going 40-6-1 with a 1.89 GAA and a .938 save percentage in his second season with the Boston Bruins, Ullmark was named a Vezina Trophy finalist on Thursday along with Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck and New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin.

Linus Ullmark led the NHL in wins (40), goals-against average (1.89), and save percentage (.938), becoming just the eighth goalie in NHL history to lead the league in all three categories and the first since Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price did it in 2014-15, in essentially capturing the triple crown for goaltenders. Ullmark also teamed with Jeremy Swayman to allow the fewest goals in the NHL this season and won the Jennings Trophy as the league’s best goaltending tandem.

As a result of Ullmark’s and Swayman’s success between the pipes this past season, and the Boston Bruins dire salary cap situation going forward, both goalies, but mainly Ullmark have been the subject of constant NHL trade rumors since their season ended on April 30.

“When you have two goalies that are so close when it comes to stat-wise, there’s got to be some changes probably,” Ullmark said. “And hopefully, like I think, for both of us, that we both want to be together and we want to stay in Boston because that’s where we thrive and you see the success that we’ve had, and we’ve just got see, you know, there’s, there’s a personal side to it, and there’s a business side to it, and you’ve got to honor it. That’s just how being a professional hockey player is.”

Ullmark, who has submitted his modified no-trade clause list of 16 teams he won’t accept a trade to, said he has yet to speak to general manager Don Sweeney regarding his future with the Boston Bruins. For now, he’s just trying to live in the moment.

“I leave that to my agent,” he replied. “It’s been fun, and I wish to continue doing so as well. It’s a lot of ifs. It’s a lot of what-ifs. And you know, I try not to think about it too much,” he said. “For me, at least, that’s not important at this [point]. Whenever that day comes, or if it ever comes, that’s something I’ve got to deal with at that point in time.

Sweeney is also up for an award as a finalist for the Jim Gregory Award given to the NHL general manager of the year. Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery is a finalist for the Jack Adams Award (NHL coach of the year), and winger David Pastrnak is a finalist for the Hart Trophy (MVP) and the Ted Lindsay Award, given to the most outstanding player as voted on by the NHLPA.