BOSTON — Goalie hugs are no more in Boston, as the Bruins pulled off a long-awaited trade of Linus Ullmark on Monday. Trading the 30-year-old Ullmark to Ottawa clears a path for Jeremy Swayman to take over as the Bruins’ top goalie — but at what cost?
In return for breaking up the best goalie tandem, the Bruins received goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, forward Mark Kastelic, and the 25th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. It’s likely not the bounty the Bruins expected to get for the 2022-23 Vezina Trophy winner, but Don Sweeney got the first-round pick that he sought for moving on from Ullmark.
But he had to pay a pretty hefty price, bringing in Korpisalo and the remaining four years of his contract. Here’s a breakdown of what the Bruins received in return for Ullmark.
It looks like the only way Sweeney and the Bruins were going to land one of Ottawa’s first-round picks (the Senators also own the 7th overall selection) was by taking on Korpisalo and the four years left on his contract. The Senators are paying a quarter of it, but the Bruins will still have to pay $3 million annually for a goalie that struggled to stop pucks in 2023-24.
Koprisalo, 30, went just 21-26-4 with a .890 save percentage (ranking 51st out of 54 goalies last season) and a 3.27 goals against average for Ottawa last season. For his nine-year career, he has a .901 save percentage and 3.06 GAA.
Maybe the Bruins believe that having a capable defense in front of Korpisalo will help him get back on track. Having goalie coach Bob Essensa should help too. A good season could repair Korpisalo’s value around the league, and perhaps the Bruins can move on from him a year from now. A buyout is also an option, but that would cost Boston $8 million over eight years.
