Felger on Linus Ullmark reportedly blocking trade
The Boston Bruins reportedly tried to trade goaltender, Linus Ullmark, before Friday’s trade deadline and he blocked the deal. Felger gave his thoughts on Ullmark blocking the trade.
Linus Ullmark apparently blocks trade at the deadline….
J-Stew: What he didn’t want a spot New Jersey.
Felger: I mean, come on, man. Like, so was it Jersey? I mean, who the hell knows “geography”. I mean, I don’t want to go to Jersey either. So it’s a couple months. But whatever, you’re an NHL player. I guess you can dictate where you’re going. That bugs me that this guy won’t agree to the trade. I mean, that’s his right, I understand. But would you want to stay where you weren’t wanted? Like, I would block you from cutting me, like “no, you want me the money, so, like, I’m not going to let you do that, but you don’t want me playing for you? I’m going to make you make you play me”, like you know what I mean? So apparently this is now twice, Jimmy? Didn’t they try and trade him in the offseason? He blocked something.
J-Stew: Yeah, he blocked a deal to Winnipeg supposedly.
Felger: Okay. So it’s like, dude, they don’t want you. But you’re just going to stay, plop your ass in the net, and you’re not going to move. I don’t know, I’m being childish about this now, but I there’s something there that like, they’ve tried to move you twice and you’ve blocked it twice. How does that how does that jibe playing for a team that doesn’t want you? And it’s like, that’s frustrating that they’ve tried to do it and that stupid no trade thing gets in the way. And his mentality, you’re going to just stick with the team that doesn’t want you? Okay. I mean, I guess it’s happened with Tim Thomas. He was in the building last night, that 2011 season people forget he hated the team. He was all sorts of pissed off and he played out of spite. And we all know what happened, so who knows? I can’t predict the future, but, I mean, they don’t want you, dude, but you’re just going to stay here, okay. You and your bro can just hug it out after another first round loss.
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Jeremy Swayman speaks on recent Linus Ullmark trade rumors
Oct 24, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) and goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) celebrate their win against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center. (David Banks/USA TODAY Sports)
But the truth is that their partnership has never seemed more in jeopardy than it does right now.
Don Sweeney’s Bruins are a team with multiple needs and limited resources to address those needs. With no draft picks, no high-end prospects (one they’d want to part with, anyway), and no cap space, there’s been talk of breaking up what’s been both a backbone and a luxury for the B’s in net. And a scarce goaltending market — Nashville isn’t trading Juuse Saros, Minnesota is not trading Marc-Andre Fleury, and a trade to send Jacob Markstrom from Calgary to New Jersey has never seemed to truly get off the ground — has seemingly forced Sweeney to explore the market on the 30-year-old Ullmark.
It’s also a talking point that’s been brought up by the game’s heavy hitters on the trade new front. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has talked about an Ullmark trade on multiple platforms now, and the possibility of Ullmark becoming a target for the Devils was brought up by Pierre LeBrun earlier this week. In a world where a lot of faux insiders chase engagement and retweets, Friedman and LeBrun don’t. If they’re putting pen to paper with something like this, you know there’s some actual dialogue happening somewhere.
And the noise did not stop Thursday night, with Kevin Weekes adding another layer of intrigue to the topic with his inclusion of the Bruins when discussing teams working on a big move involving their goaltending.
DALLAS, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 06: Linus Ullmark #35 of the Boston Bruins and Jeremy Swayman #1 celebrate after defeating the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on November 06, 2023 in Dallas, Texas. (Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
The other problem, of course, could be the chemistry issues an Ullmark trade could create.
It may sound silly, but it truly seems like the Ullmark-Swayman tandem brings the best out of each goaltender. Their aforementioned bond is a real thing, and the Bruins have benefitted greatly from the rather bizarre trend that’s almost always seen one of them surge when the other is down. Boston’s ability to rotate a starter-quality goaltender for every game this season has also helped keep a flawed team afloat for prolonged stretches.
There’s also a legitimate case to be made for the Bruins rolling through the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a playoff rotation, especially with neither Ullmark nor Swayman looking like a true workhorse and with neither goaltender winning a round through their two playoff runs together to date. Having Ullmark as a backup option in the event that Swayman struggles or vice versa is hardly a bad backup plan for the B’s.
At the same time, however, it feels obvious that this tandem is coming to an end. Be it by the deadline or this summer when the trade market is expected to be a bit more open with the cap ceiling going up significantly. Swayman is due for a massive raise (and it sounds like he’ll get it here), and the tricky part for him is that it’s going to be impossible for him to get it while Ullmark is here. Not with all of the Bruins’ other long-term needs.
