On the last day of the NHL season, the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins made a deal that sent Linus Ullmark to Ottawa in exchange for Joonas Korpisalo, Mark Kastelic and a first round pick (25th overall).
Like his counterpart in Los Angeles, Senators General Manager Steve Staios wanted to get out of the deficit and improve the goaltending position. The Senators ranked last in save percentage last season.
NHL Trade: Boston Boston Trade Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators
Ever since the Senators traded for Filip Gustavsson, the goalie position has been a revolving door, with Matt Murray, Anton Forsberg, and now Korpisalo.
Staios did a great job sending Korpisalo to Boston and kept 25 percent of Korpisalo's remaining salary as part of the deal. The Bruins must pay Korpisalo $3 million over the next four years.
While it may look good on paper, and Korpisalo will be the backup, the Bruins owe Jeremy Swayman an extension. Reports say that Swayman's new contract will be an eight-year extension worth about $8 million to $8.5 million. That's $11 million the Bruins spent on a goaltender.
Back in Ottawa. Let's face it: If the Ottawa Senators want to make the playoffs, they need a goaltender, let alone a goalie.
And giving up a guy they didn't want in Korpisalo, a fourth-line player in Kastelic, and a first-rounder to get a Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender was impressive to Steve Staios.
Along with the goals, the Senators need a better start to their season. Adding Ullmark will help them with that, but they need to play better defensively in front of their new goalie. There are holes to fill there, but not paying 100% for Korpisalo is a win for Steve Staios.
This is a step in the right direction for the Ottawa Senators. Their defensive game improved last season, but not saving at the right time let the players down on the ice. So now they have certainty in that position.
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Staios' next deal regarding Ullmark is signing him to an extension. When he was contacted by the media, Ullmark said, “There were no discussions about the extension. He wants to find a place to live first and get used to the place. The contract is something that Steve and my agent will deal with off the ice. “
As it stands now, Ullmark is only playing one year with the Senators.
On the Boston side of things, outside of the contract, the Bruins got a nice fourth lineman in Mark Kastelic. With his size and physical play, he is the prototypical Bruin. He may not score a lot, but he brings center depth to the Bruins. But the biggest thing Boston got out of this was a first-round pick.
Also, it's easy to look at things right now and say Ottawa won, but what if Korpisalo changes his game for Boston goaltending coach Bob Essensa? What does that say about the goaltending coach in Ottawa? That is for another discussion.
But for now, the Senators face their most important need between the pipes and getting a W in the win column until proven otherwise.
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