Bruins trade goaltender Daniel Vladar to Flames
A wildly busy day for the Boston Bruins included more than just some free agent additions, as the team traded goaltender Daniel Vladar to the Calgary Flames in exchange for a 2022 third-round pick.
Drafted by the Bruins with the No. 75 overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, Vladar appeared in five games with the Bruins this past season, and posted a 2-2-1 record with an .886 save percentage and a 3.40 goals against average.
The numbers were better than they appeared, really, as Vladar’s final appearance of the 2021 season came behind an injury-battered Boston defense and came with an eight-goal barrage that dropped Vladar’s save percentage from .922 to .886, and ballooned his goals against average up to that aforementioned 3.40.
Again, he had certainly played better than both those final numbers indicated.
But there was a definite numbers game working against Vladar following the B’s signing of Linus Ullmark to a $20 million deal.
Out of minor-league options, it was Boston or the waiver wire for the 6-foot-5 Vladar this fall. And having already lost Malcolm Subban for nothing back in 2017, the Bruins opted to get something while they still could.
The Bruins could have started the season with Vladar on the NHL roster as Ullmark’s backup (Jeremy Swayman still has minor-league options and could have been sent to Providence without waivers), but the Bruins are clearly using this sans Tuukka Rask to see if Swayman, who had a .945 save percentage in his brief NHL run this season, is truly ready for a full-time role in the NHL.
This was also the Bruins recouping a 2022 third-round pick, which was the price the Black and Gold paid to acquire Mike Reilly from the Ottawa Senators these past deadline. The Bruins signed Reilly to a three-year, $9 million extension Tuesday night.
With Vladar on the outs, the Bruins signed veteran depth goaltender Troy Grosenick to a one-year, two-way contract worth $750,000 at the NHL level.
The 31-year-old posted a 1-1-0 record with a .922 save percentage and a 3.00 goals against average in two games with the Los Angeles Kings last year, and has a 2-2-0 record with a .933 save percentage and a 2.27 goals against average in four career NHL games between the Kings and San Jose Sharks.
Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.
