This season, the Boston Bruins boasted the greatest goaltending tandem in the NHL once more.
For three seasons, Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark have divided the time. Ullmark earned the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goaltender in 2022–23 after starting 48 games. His stats were a 40–6–1 record, a.938 save percentage, and a 1.89 goals–against average.
Swayman played in 37 games, going 24-6-4 with a.920 save % and 2.27 goals against average. With the best record in the league, the Bruins took home the Presidents Trophy.
However, Swayman took on a somewhat leading position in 2023–2024. Swayman had a record of 25-10-8 overall, a.916 save percentage, and 2.53 goals against average while starting 43 games with Boston. Ullmark (22-10-7,.915 save percentage, 2.57 GAA) was also excellent.
Rumors surfaced in March regarding Ullmark’s possible trading destinations. The 30-year-old’s contract has a 16-team no-trade clause, but several teams that weren’t on that list had him as a primary target. Still, he remained in Boston.
You remain! You remain! tweet.com/Bmd3gNP37n
— @marinakmaher, Marina Maher 10 March 2024
Ullmark is still a trade target despite just appearing in two playoff games, as Swayman appears to be the Bruins’ long-term goalie.
However, why end a tandem when they are so successful and get along so well?
Tyler Yaremchuk: He publicly stated that he still has one year left on his contract and that there is a reason his no-trade list isn’t open to trades. The availability of Ullmark and the Bruins’ capacity to move him. Fire, smoke, or is this just a false alarm?
Seravalli Frank: Whoa, there’s fire. With a 16-team no-trade clause, you can only transfer him to half of the league. You don’t bleep with happiness, in my opinion. Though we’re aware that Swayman is the one… This year, they outperformed expectations by 10 points thanks to the excellent play of their goaltender pair, not just one player. In the NHL of today, you need two goalies. The issue is in the large number of teams that lack one.
