SAD NEWS: Brad Marchand has been fired from the team of Boston Bruins due to……..Read More…
The Ottawa Senators would like to make a net gain during the off-season.
That won’t be easy for the club to upgrade its troubled goaltending position, but Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, is studying his options.
After failing in a bid to acquire goaltender Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins at the National Hockey League trade deadline in March, Staios and the club’s hockey operations department are expected to make another pitch before the draft set for June 28-29 in Las Vegas.
The Senators, Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils were among several teams that made a push for the 30-year-old Ullmark before the deadline. The indications are Ullmark refused to change his 15-team no trade list, which meant a possible deal to the Devils was scuttled.
Making $5 million heading into the final year of his deal, Ullmark split the duties with Jeremy Swayman during the season, but made only one start in the playoffs.
A restricted free agent, the Bruins want to sign Swayman to a long-term extension, which means Ullmark will be available.
Speaking to the media at the Bruins wrap-up press conference Wednesday at the TD Garden after Boston was eliminated in Round 2 by the Florida Panthers, GM Don Sweeney made no bones about the fact that he’ll be taking calls on Ullmark in the off-season.
“We’re gonna find a landing spot with Jeremy Swayman (on a contract), and if we can make the math work, we’re going to have the best tandem. If we can’t, we’re going to explore. And for Linus, he may come to us and change his mind, that may occur as well,” Sweeney said.
