BOSTON -- One of the biggest reasons the Boston Bruins came within five points of the Presidents' Trophy in 2023-24 was their two-headed goaltending monster of Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark. One of the biggest reasons they extended their season to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Second Round was that they abandoned their rotation and went with the hot hand, Swayman.
The results of those decisions will come due in the offseason.
Swayman, arguably the best goalie in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, can be a restricted free agent. Asked if he is looking to sign long term in Boston, Swayman said, "I am."
"I'm confident that my agent and I and management will figure out the details this summer," he said. "I'm looking forward to it."
Swayman was involved in intense negotiations last summer that left him feeling a bit bruised. He was awarded a $3.475 million contract in salary arbitration for the 2023-24 season, setting him up to again become a RFA. Given his play, 25-10-8 with a 2.53 goals-against average, .916 save percentage and three shutouts in the regular season and 6-6 with a 2.15 GAA and .933 save percentage in the playoffs, including 11 straight starts, that number is guaranteed to go up.
His future seems set.
Ullmark's? Less so.
In the first round of the playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Swayman started Game 1, Ullmark Game 2 and Swayman Game 3, but the rotation ended after that. Swayman started the final five games against the Maple Leafs and all six against the Florida Panthers, who ended up knocking the Bruins out in the best-of-7 series.
That left Ullmark, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner voted as the best goalie in the NHL, as the backup. It was not easy.
"I was always trying to feel like I'm going to get the next one," Ullmark said. "For me, that had been a two-edged sword. I was thinking, I'm going to get the next one, and I didn't."
He was on a mental roller coaster, going, as he put it, "up and down and up and down and up and down."
Ullmark said he tried to carry himself as professionally as possible while subsuming his personal disappointment for the greater good of the team. He knew that Swayman was playing extremely well and that was most important.
He tried to be supportive. Swayman appreciated it.
Ullmark is signed for another season, the final one of a four-year, $20 million contract he signed July 28, 2021. Asked about his future, he said, "My future here? I've got one more year. I'm very excited about what's to come. … I'm very motivated. Mixed in with some revenge, obviously, some inspiration as well, but most of all excitement of what's to come."
The Bruins will have a significant amount of space under the NHL salary cap next season ($87.7 million) that they will likely use to sign Swayman and try to upgrade at the center position. But it remains possible that they could opt to go with Swayman and trade Ullmark, something they reportedly explored before the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline on March 8.
"I have my (no-trade) list and my list is there. We've worked very hard for it," Ullmark said. "There is a reason for why it is there. That's something that the players before me worked really hard to get to the point that we have that luxury. There's a reason why it's there and there's a reason why certain teams are on there and there might be personal things, but that's up to each and every player to have."
The trade rumors this season were challenging for Ullmark, especially given how much he likes the situation he has in Boston.
"That's also one of the things that was new for me this year," he said. "I've never been a part of any trade talks before, so that was a new experience. Was it hard? Yeah, it was hard, because you're very comfortable where you are. You don't want to move when you feel like you're playing well and you have the team, you have the bonds in the teammates.
"For me, it's above my pay grade, really. I don't have the luxury to choose that. If I could, I'm probably going to say the same thing as everybody else. I want to stay and I'm going to stay, but we live in a world where in professional sport, you've got to deal with the hand you've been dealt with. Like I said, I have one more year. I wouldn't want anything else than to come back here, get a little bit of a revenge tour. I'm very excited, motivated for what's to come."
Ullmark has been comfortable from the start in Boston, both on the ice and with his family, his wife Moa and two kids. It was a welcome change from his tenure with the Buffalo Sabres and something that has been very important to him.
He and Swayman have also formed a tight friendship and bond, a working relationship that has led both to excel.
Swayman lauded the ways Ullmark was there for him during the playoffs and supported him, even with the difficulties in the situation personally. Swayman said he got "endless positivity" from Ullmark.
"I couldn't have done this playoff run without him, I can tell you that, for sure," Swayman said.
