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Greg Wyshynski, ESPNOct 9, 2024, 10:14 AM ET
- Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
Former Boston Bruins star goaltender Linus Ullmark has signed a four-year contract extension with the Ottawa Senators, who acquired him in a high-profile trade in June.
Ullmark, 31, has one more season left on a deal that carries a $5 million average annual value. His new contract, which begins in the 2025-26 season, has an AAV of $8.25 million — the same salary cap hit as his former Bruins crease-mate Jeremy Swayman, who signed an eight-year contract Sunday.
“We are excited to have Linus signed to a contract extension before the start of the regular season,” Senators president of hockey operations and general manager Steve Staios said in a statement. “In a short window of time, Linus has been able to see the culture we’re trying to grow with our hockey club and his family has experienced the community spirit of Ottawa-Gatineau.”
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Ullmark and Swayman were the NHL’s best tandem over the past three seasons, helping the Bruins to the lowest goals-against average (2.49) in that span. But Boston GM Don Sweeney said that “both goaltenders asked to play 55 games, and that’s not possible if you’re playing on the same team.” So Boston chose to retain Swayman, 25, and trade Ullmark to the Senators in a deal that brought goalie Joonas Korpisalo back to the Bruins.
Ullmark is entering his 10th NHL season, having spent six seasons with the Buffalo Sabres and three with the Bruins. He won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goaltender in 2022-23, when he and Swayman led the league in fewest goals allowed. Ullmark followed that with a 22-10-7 record and a .915 save percentage last season.
The Senators acquired him to fix their own goaltending, which ranked last in the NHL in save percentage (.884) last season with Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg, who returns as Ullmark’s backup.
“When you get to this part of your career, you really want to put an emphasis on what’s best for your family. And we felt that ever since we came here, it’s been a great fit,” said Ullmark in a statement. “I’m hoping this can help change things for the better in this organization for this city.”
This contract extension would make Ullmark the NHL’s fourth-highest paid active goalie in average annual value in 2025-26: Tied with Swayman and ranking behind Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky ($10 million), Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy ($9 million) and Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck ($8.5 million). But all of them are expected to be bumped down a spot when New York Rangers star goalie Igor Shesterkin signs a new contract, as he’s an unrestricted free agent next summer.
