One potential Linus Ullmark landing spot is officially off the board

The fate of Bruins netminder Linus Ullmark, for the most part, remains a complete unknown.

Ullmark has made it clear that he has no interest in leaving Boston, and Don Sweeney and the Bruins haven't shut the door on running it back with the Ullmark and current restricted free agent Jeremy Swayman tandem should the money work for at least one more year. As unlikely as that may seem given the expected raise for Swayman as well as the Bruins' other needs that need to be addressed.

But Wednesday came with one team officially ruled out of the equation should an Ullmark trade have to come from the Bruins with this summer, as New Jersey found their next No. 1 goalie by way of a trade with Calgary for Jacob Markstrom. To bring Markstrom to New Jersey, the Devils parted with defenseman Kevin Bahl, as well as a top-10 protected first-round pick in 2025, while the Flames retained 31 percent of Markstrom's salary to bring his cap hit down to $4.125 million per season.

General manager Tom Fitzgerald and the Devils entered the offseason openly acknowledging that they needed a goalie, and there was even talk that they had let other teams know that the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft was in play in potential trade talks. The price paid for the 34-year-old Markstrom, who has another two years left on his contract and is coming off a 2023-24 campaign that featured 23 wins and a .905 save percentage in 48 games, ultimately did not get that high for Fitzgerald's club.

The obvious 'bummer' from the B's point of view with this trade comes with the fact that if location has played a factor in his willingness or unwilling to use his trade protection, it's hard to find a team in need of a goalie that's closer to Boston (and in turn closer to Sweden) than New Jersey. The Devils' aforementioned willingness to pay a first-round pick to address their goalie also played to the Black and Gold's desires and needs with a potential Ullmark trade, with Sweeney openly referencing the 2013 trade that saw then-Canucks goalie Cory Schneider traded for a top-10 pick when discussing goalie returns, giving you a slight idea as to what he and the pick-deficient Bruins would target in a potential trade.

Now, the good news within that Markstrom-to-NJ trade comes with the Devils sending a first-round pick and more out the door to acquire Markstrom. It's perhaps not an apples-to-apples kind of comparison given the fact that Markstrom has two years left on his current contract while Ullmark has just one, it is worth mentioning that Ullmark is both younger and has better numbers of late.

In essence, the Bruins still should be able to get something of legitimate value in a potential Ullmark deal.

The Sens are still interested in adding a goalie (and willing to pay a premium), and same for the Kings, who tried to make a play for Ullmark at the 2024 trade deadline before Ullmark reportedly nixed a trade. But Ullmark's trade protection will ultimately remain the greatest obstacle, as Ullmark still possesses an insanely player-friendly trade list, and with that list set to go from 16 teams to 15 teams in 2024-25.

Ullmark, who won 22 games and posted a .915 save percentage in 40 games last season, is entering the final year of a contract that comes with a $5 million cap hit.

The Bruins entered the offseason not expecting to make any changes to their coaching staff.

But a coaching change in Seattle has allowed the Bruins to welcome an old friend back to the fold, with former Kraken assistant coach and former P-Bruins head coach Jay Leach added to Boston's staff as an assistant coach, as confirmed by Bruins general manager Don Sweeney.

“The Boston Bruins are excited to welcome Jay Leach back to the organization,” Sweeney said in a statement announcing the move. “Jay was a very successful coach with the Providence Bruins where he greatly impacted our player development system, and he also brings valuable experience as an assistant coach from the Seattle Kraken.

"We believe Jay will integrate quickly and complement our current staff as he comes back to the Bruins to work with our defense corps.”

Unlike Dave Hakstol, Leach was not fired by the Kraken, and instead chose to leave the Kraken for a post with the Bruins following Seattle's hiring of Dan Bylsma as the team's new head coach.

In Seattle for the past three seasons, the 44-year-old Leach was in charge of the Kraken's defense. That defense really became Seattle's calling card following their inaugural season, too, as they limited shots and chances against, while countless players blossomed and took notable steps under Leach's tutelage.

It was also enough for Leach to earn multiple head coaching interviews during his time in Seattle, including an interview with the Bruins before the club hired Jim Montgomery in 2022. Most recently, Leach was in the running for Seattle's head coaching gig before the club opted to go with the veteran Bylsma instead.

Prior to his time in Seattle, Leach spent five seasons on the P-Bruins coaching staff, including four as the team's head coach. Behind Providence's bench, Leach compiled a 136-77-26 record, and was instrumental in development of defensemen and NHL regulars such as Connor Clifton and Jeremy Lauzon, and was the head coach for the Providence tenure of types like Trent Frederic and Jakub Lauko.

Bringing Leach and his defensive acumen back into the fold now comes at an interesting time for the Bruins, with Mason Lohrei expected to be a full-time member of the NHL roster, and with players such as Parker Wotherspoon and Andrew Peeke looking to truly cement themselves as go-to members of the Boston defense after solid showings for the Black and Gold last season.

Leach's return to the organization will also come with a promotion for Joe Sacco, as the veteran B's assistant will be the Black and Gold's associate coach for the 2024-25 season. Sacco's promotion comes after a season that saw him drop back to running the B's defense and power play following the offseason departure of John Gruden.

“I’d like to congratulate Joe Sacco on his promotion to associate coach," Montgomery said. "Joe has been an integral part of this staff due to his experience and the passion he brings to our group every day." 

Sacco, who has been in the running for head coaching jobs elsewhere and with the B's organization since Claude Julien's days as a head coach, will now be the second-leading voice behind Montgomery on Boston's staff.

Leach's addition and Sacco's promotion, as well as the retention of assistant coach Chris Kelly, will come with one other change to the coaching staff, with John McLean transitioning to a development role as the club's skating and skills coach after serving as Boston's 'eye in the sky' assistant coach a season ago.

One interesting part of all of this is that Montgomery is entering the final year of his current contract as the B's head coach, has yet to hammer out an extension with the club, and the Bruins now have two guys behind him who could conceivably be his replacements should things go south in 2024-25. Not only that, but they're both guys that the Bruins interviewed before going with Montgomery back in 2022, and the Bruins even got a taste of Sacco as a head coach during Bruce Cassidy's COVID absence during the 2021-22 season.

This will become a legitimate storyline, too, should the Bruins and Montgomery fail to come to terms on an extension ahead of the 2024-25 season, as the B's tend to handle these things early.