It was announced tonight that the Ottawa Senators obtained goaltender Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins in exchange for forward Mark Kastelic, goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (25% retained) and the 25th overall pick in this year’s NHL draft.
Many fans were left puzzled at the return for Linus Ullmark after the news broke.
This return was quite a bit less than the reported asking price in the media for months now.
The package was fairly similar to what the NJ Devils gave up to get Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames.
Many people felt New Jersey Devils General Manager Tom Fitzgerald overpaid for Markstrom, or that he got the WRONG goalie altogether.
Did Tom Fitzgerald overpay?
Should he have went after Linus Ullmark instead?
Was this all part of the Ottawa Senators plan to keep Brady Tkachuk happy and keep him in Ottawa?
I discuss it all and more in this video.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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23 Comments
I would roll the dice any day with Markstom at 4 mill then Ullmark with the uncertainty of being a workhorse and coming with a hefty price tag that could ultimately haunt this franchise if he didn’t work out. Markstrom gives us so much more roster flexibility to sign good to elite defenseman in front of him. Fitz got this 100% right and Bahl was expandable. If he threw his body around and actually used his size I would definitely be a little butt hurt about the trade but he was soft as baby shit and a sub par defender. I believe Fitz will get it right this summer and the Devils will be making a deep run next season in the playoffs.
I really like Joe . He tells how it is in his own beliefs and stands by it. Keep him on I enjoy you guys he makes it more interesting. Thank you as always and LGD
I definitely think we got the right goalie. Markstrom is definitely a 1A goalie but I also wonder what Tom Fitzgerald will do about Kaapo Kahkonen now. Will he resign him or let him go to free agency? Kahkonen is a pretty good goalie but I’m not sure if we have a place for him now.
Ullmark which a product of the system once begeron retired and the d wasn’t as good his numbers went up
Ill take the goalie who cost a late pick in 2025 and a 3rd pairing dman who doesnt use his size while also saving cap. Ullmark was a systematic goalie and a great defensive Boston team while marky lost lots of pieces than was prepared to be shipped before being told "nahhhh" we didnt get more for you. Imagine coming into work after that trade deadline debacle knowing calgary was ready to move on… Now go get tanev and Zadorov!!!
Idk why this is still a topic of discussion. New Jersey was on his 15 team no trade list, and he refused to waive the clause. He clearly was not an option, as you're not going to give up any assets for a guy that is virtually guaranteed to walk the following season. Markstrom was a decent choice for the money, anyone that doesn't think that he is a gamble due to his age and clear declining play is a moron. That being said, he is a safe gamble and huge upgrade from where we were last season for just at 4 million a year. As far as the goalies in the minors, none of them have shown that they can develop into a confident starting net minder at this point. So going after a younger goalie would have been fine. I personally would have preferred Saros but it looks like that wasnt on the table. Either way Markstrom is a decent upgrade. Now Fitz needs to lock up Pesce, and hopefully grab Zadorov, Tanev, or Dillon, then a solid wing or 3C.
After acquiring Jakob Markstrom from the Flames, the Devils will trade Akira Schmid, Nolan Foote, Nathan Bastian, Santeri Hatakka, a 2025 conditional 6th-rounder, and a 2026 5th-rounder to the Jets for Connor Hellebuyck, so next season, Connor and Jakob will form the best goalie tandem the Devils have seen since Martin Brodeur and Chris Terreri.
Joe has some wild takes but seeing you and him go at it was extremely entertaining haha love the passion between you two. Would love to see a video of you guys discussing Markstrom vs. Ullmark.
On top of all the rational, logistical points you made, Ace – we still don't know if Ullmark was even willing to waive to come to NJ. (Which would make the entire debate moot to the fans with buyer's remorse.) I'm very happy with Markstrom for the cost and the flexibility it's giving us to add extra players rn.
I think the same people who are saying Markstrom was too old are now saying “see, we could have gotten a younger goalie for a similar deal”. Age isn’t the Devils concern in net right now, they needed a proven goaltender who can bring stability between the pipes and backstop this squad to a couple playoff runs. Markstrom is not going to be the solution for the next decade, but neither would have been a trade for Jarry, or Merzlinkins, or even Ulmark to be honest. Markstrom is perfect for what the Devils need for the next couple years, and two years down the road there will be free agents and trades available no different than any other year if Daws or Poulter are not ready to become the next guy.
You need to keep Joe around. Mainly because I honestly thought you were exaggerating in saying anyone following NJ felt Ullmark (at this price) was the right move for the Devils. Shaking my head at those messages you had on screen. I think you hit all the right points in the video (Ottawa also retained salary, which is crazy). Cap $$ saved when you are trying to compete is so valuable.
Plus what… Devils were going to ship Allen to Boston (seems Boston wanted a backup as part of the deal. That puts the Devils young goalies back in the NHL (riding the bench) and not developing in the AHL.
We all know nothing is a guarantee, but at least in Markstrom you are getting a player that wants to be here, and his contract better aligns with the Devils plans.
I think Ullmark might be more of a product of Boston defense
As a Bruins' fan, the last two playoff performances for Ullmark should not mitigate his value. This year, in the 2 games he played, he was exceptional, but it was tough to not play Swayman the way he was performing. Last year, Ullmark was obviously suffering from an injury. You could tell by just watching him struggling to move quickly. The coach should have put Swayman in earlier, but didn't.
Goalies always bring in less in a trade than people expect, so I won't complain about what Boston got back. After all, Boston signed Ullmark as a UFA 3 years ago, so gave up zero assets, got 3 great years of play and packaged him for 3 assets. I wish every UFA signing worked out that well.
The dude is 34 and you traded your best d man for him plus a first round pick lmaoooo you guys will be back in the goalie market in 2 years.
No didn’t make the right choice ullmark is better and younger ez choice except if your Fitzgerald
i was definitely pissed when i first saw this ullmark trade, then late last night i went through everything and thought about everything and ullmark regardless of how much ottawa paid for him marky is still the guy we needed, we have some great goalies in the pipeline, some may end up better than others and for right now its too early to tell who those guys will be and none of them are worth giving up on yet and with markstrom we dont have to, as you mentioned. the only thing that still leaves me uneasy is did we have to pay as much as we did even though the assets we did give up werent overly significant? we will never know for sure but thats my only concern at this point about the 2 deals for goalies. i think ullmark is going to have a set back season. im not saying hes going to be the worst goalie in the league but i do think he will struggle a bit more than usual simply because its easy to forget how good the team was in front of him in boston, although he also had some not so good teams in buffalo in his time in the nhl. also ullmark wouldnt be the first goalie ottawa has ruined, korpisalo may not have been a top goalie but he wasnt a terrible goalie before going to ottawa and now look at him… i do think at the end of the year we will look back at this and laugh at ottawa, and then we will welcome brady home!
I am still high on Ullmark, but you are correct about the contract and money aspect of it and nothing I hate more than overpaying for a free agent (ehhem….kovalchuk)
love joe and love his takes. i respect fans who come with a different point of view rather than those who just agree with whatever the consensus is and provide nothing
Gorgeous jersey per usual…happy we got Markstrom, the price is the price at the time of the move so it’s tough to argue future transactions against it when he’s the first goalie off the board, glad we didn’t wait for the market to develop and then miss out on landing a great tendy… wish it came 6 months ago 😝 although the price would have been even higher back then, so it’s all relative…bottom line, we got our guy finally!
I want BRADY T!!! His wife is a jersey girl and he is cousins with Fitz!!! LETS GO!!!
I think the right move would have been getting Saros. Markstom is still a solid goalie, and I definitely am happier with him instead of Ullmark. But seeing how these deals have played out, you cant tell me we couldnt have flipped the 10th overall pick and a few more assets for Saros.
Bring joestalgia back! We want him back! On permanent basis! Ace out! Joe in!!!
Joestalgia is never going to get his own Steve the Maniac style graphic if he keeps punishing you with bad takes. #bringbradytonj