Senators Acquire Former Sabres Goalie

There’s nothing like a breaking trade right before the start of the biggest game in NHL history, right? The big trade sends Boston Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Boston’s original 2024 first-round pick (25th overall), Mark Kastelic, and Joonas Korpisalo. Ottawa is retaining 25% of Korpisalo’s salary in the deal.

It’s a divisional reshuffling of parts from the Buffalo Sabres’ perspective. The Sabres are very familiar with Ullmark, who spent six seasons in the organization. He was drafted in the sixth round, 163rd overall, by Buffalo in 2012.

After winning the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goaltender, Ullmark saw his starts reduce drastically thanks to the stellar play of Jeremy Swayman. He had a 39-22-10 record in 2023-2024 with a 2.57 goals-against average and .915 save percentage.

The Bruins will lean more heavily on Swayman now that Ullmark is traded, who posted a 43-25-10 record with a 2.53 goals-against average and .916 save percentage.

As for the return from Ottawa, receiving a first-round pick for an expected backup netminder does not happen often. Ullmark was a luxury piece for Boston, as the team provides a great environment around its goalies to maximize their production.

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Mark Kastelic is a gritty fourth-line center which should translate well in Boston. He registered five goals and five assists in 63 games played this past season. He has 14 goals in his 144-game career.

Joonas Korpisalo is an interesting piece in this trade, as he’s only a year removed from propelling the Los Angeles Kings into the Stanley Cup playoffs. He signed a big five-year, $20 million deal with the Senators heading into the season. Ottawa will now eat $1 million of that salary for the next four seasons.

Korpisalo’s $3 million cap hit per season frees up $2 million for the Bruins, giving them some flexibility heading into the NHL Draft and free agency. Boston is rumored to be looking for a top-six center to complement stars David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand.