THN.com/podcast. From The Hockey News Podcast: What Went Wrong for the Bruins, Lightning and Rangers? Linus Ullmark [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk3NzA5NTUwMzk1MDczODM3/usatsi_20378871.jpg] Linus Ullmark The Boston Bruins' early playoff exit following their record-setting regular season leaves some questions about what the roster will look like next season. Salary-cap constraints could force GM Don Sweeney to make some difficult choices regarding which of their 10 free agents [https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/bruins/boston-bruins-roster-reset-list-2023-free-agents-salary-cap-update] to re-sign. Sweeny might have to consider one or two cost-cutting moves. One of them could involve Linus Ullmark. The favorite to win the Vezina Trophy this season, the 29-year-old Ullmark is coming off a career-best performance with a record of 40-6-1, a 1.89 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage. CapFriendly [https://www.capfriendly.com/players/linus-ullmark] indicates he's halfway through a four-year contract with an average annual value of $5 million. Ullmark, however, struggled in the series against the Florida Panthers, winning three of six games with a 3.33 GAA and a .896 SP. He was coy [https://bostonhockeynow.com/2023/05/02/boston-bruins-ullmark-on-if-he-was-injured-no-yes-and-no/] regarding a report claiming an injury hampered his performance in that series. Boston Hockey Now's Jimmy Murphy [https://bostonhockeynow.com/2023/05/02/boston-bruins-nhl-source-teams-called-on-ullmark-last-summer/] cited a former NHL executive claiming the Bruins listened to trade offers last summer for Ullmark but decided against moving him. It's worth pointing out that his contract contains a full no-movement clause in the first two years. Despite Ullmark's Vezina-worthy performance, Murphy's source suggested he could become an off-season trade candidate. He noted that backup Jeremy Swayman is on the rise and is an RFA this summer. They also have the promising Brandon Bussi with their AHL affiliate in Providence. Ullmark's no-movement clause reverts to a 16-team no-trade on July 1. He would draw plenty of interest in the trade market. Moving him would free up valuable cap space for Sweeney to make other signings. Whether the Bruins GM goes to that extreme remains to be seen.
