Welcome to another edition of NHL Rumours! With a pivotal Game Six of the Stanley Cup Finals coming Friday night, excitement is in the air for hockey. Although, the chaos of the offseason frenzy is already underway. Numerous big trades have happened and more could be coming. Today’s Rumours focus on the Ottawa Senators and the goalie carousel.
NHL Rumours
Rumour: Bruce Garrioch from the Ottawa Citizen discusses pursuit of Linus Ullmark
The goalie carousel is beginning to come to a full circle. After seeing the New Jersey Devils land their guy in Jacob Markstrom, the first domino fell. In addition, the Los Angeles Kings traded Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Washington Capitals for Darcy Kuemper. Teams have identified their need between the pipes and found their guy. Also, that leads us to the Ottawa Senators and how they can address their goalie issues.
The Senators are aggressively pursuing Ullmark, which is not the first time they’ve done so. With Markstrom heading to New Jersey, the need for a true number one is evident. According to Garrioch, they may be the only serious team left in the running for his services. Ullmark comes with hurdles, as he has a 15 team no trade list and one year left on his contract. Whether it gets done remains to be seen but he is an immediate upgrade.
Ullmark is an Upgrade for Senators
The latest NHL Rumours see the Senators going for their guy. Ullmark is a true number one goaltending and would give the Senators stability between the pipes. Between Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg, the Senators finished 31st in team save percentage. That’s simply not good enough, especially for a team that’s looking to take the next steps as a franchise.
Ullmark is coming off another strong season for the Bruins. He went on to finish the season with a 2.57 goals against average and a .915 save percentage. Furthermore, his 14.8 goals saved above expected was in the top ten among goaltenders. He was dialed in this season and would be an instant upgrade for the club.
It’s Time for the Senators to Compete
The time for the Senators to compete is now. They have a young core group, but if it comes together it can be more competitive. With Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson, and Jake Sanderson help pave the way, it’s time to grow further and compete better. Having a stable goaltender goes a long ways and having Ullmark can help give them more wins. It’ll be interesting to see how this unfolds and where it goes, but Ullmark is the guy.
Main Photo: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
