Linus Ullmark entered the 2023-24 season as the reigning Vezina Trophy winner. The Boston Bruins netminder was 40-6-1 with a league-leading 1.89 GAA and .938 SV%. Together with Jeremy Swayman, he shared the William M. Jennings Trophy for giving up the fewest goals in the NHL.
After being the top goalie and team in the league, Ullmark and the Bruins regressed this past season. They missed out on another chance to win the Stanley Cup with the current core, which includes Ullmark, Swayman, David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, and Brad Marchand. Although Boston did not end their Centennial Season with another banner to hang at TD Garden, there are still plenty of positive things to discuss. Let’s start Ullmark’s report card by reviewing his regular season performance.
Inside the Numbers: Ullmark’s 2023-24 Regular Season
Ullmark led Boston goalies with 49 starts in the previous campaign, seeing that total dip a bit after missing four games in 2023-24 due to a lower-body injury suffered in a Jan. 9 contest against the Arizona Coyotes. Outside of that stretch, he rotated with Swayman, particularly every night, getting the first start of the season against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 11.
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Ullmark won his first three starts, giving up three goals and compiling a .962 SV%. Through the first ten games, he was 7-2-1 with a 2.60 GAA and .918 SV%. As the Bruins continued to rank as one of the top teams in the league through the first three months, the Swedish netminder had an outstanding win-loss record before his injury. Still, both his GAA and SV% were higher than the personal milestones he obtained last season.
Including the 62:06 he played against the Coyotes, Ullmark was 13-5-2, with a no-decision, 2.70 GAA and .915 SV%. For comparison’s sake, through the first 21 games of his Vezina Trophy-winning season, he was 17-1-1 with a 1.76 GAA and .938 SV%.
Although it is of no fault to him, Ullmark and the Bruins played complacent hockey down the stretch, which is reflected in the netminder’s pedestrian-like statistics, which include a 9-5-5 record over his final 19 games, with a 2.42 GAA and .914 SV%. However, Ullmark did record his only two shutouts of the season in the final two months of the regular season, one against the Vancouver Canucks (Feb. 8) and one against the Nashville Predators (Apr. 2).
With a chance to clinch the Atlantic Division title for the second consecutive season, Swayman and Ullmark lost their last starts, with Ullmark taking the loss in the season finale against the Ottawa Senators on Apr. 16. In the end, he played 40 games, down from 49 the year prior, and had 27 contests with at least a .900 SV%. Regarding the 13 games with a sub .900 SV%, he was 4-5-4, which are pretty different totals from 2022-23. On his way to the Vezina Trophy, he had 43 games with an SV% higher than .900 and only six contests below. In those six games, he compiled a 4-1-0 record with a no-decision in a relief appearance.
Ullmark Plays Just 77 Minutes in Stanley Cup Playoffs
Against the Florida Panthers in the first round of the 2022-23 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Ullmark was the main guy, earning a 3-3 record, a 3.33 GAA, and a .896 SV%. After playing 359:51, head coach Jim Montgomery gave Swayman the Game 7 start, who lost in overtime.
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Fast forward 12 months later, the Bruins bench boss indicated that the regular season rotation between the pipes would continue. However, after Ullmark lost Game 2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs, he didn’t start another game as Swayman led Boston deep into the second round. Meanwhile, Ullmark only skated one more time in 2023-24, coming in for a relief appearance in Game 3 against Florida. All in all, his final playoff totals were 0-1-0 with a 2.50 GAA and .886 SV%.
Final Grade
Ullmark finishes the 2023-24 campaign with a B- grade. As the best statistical goalie in the NHL ahead of the season, it is safe to say that he regressed and reverted to his standard, one we’ve seen throughout his career. This standard earned him a 50-47-13 record with the Buffalo Sabres and a 26-10-2 mark with Boston before his best season in 2022-23.
Even though he’s proven to be a capable number-one goalie with any team, Ullmark is best suited to share the workload, as limiting his start totals allows him to stay fresh. Unfortunately, the Bruins did not win the Stanley Cup, but the blame can not be placed on their bear-hugging netminders, who gave up the fifth fewest goals in the NHL. Ullmark may not have had another Vezina Trophy-caliber season. Still, his regression was not detrimental to the team’s overall performance, which watched Swayman become the team’s future number one.
What’s Next for Ullmark and the Bruins
Fans across the NHL who intently follow trade rumors know that General Manager Don Sweeney had a deal to send Ullmark to the Los Angeles Kings. However, he invoked his no-movement clause and vetoed the deal. Now, the proverbial cat is out of the bag; everyone knows that Boston is interested in trading him away.
After Swayman’s brilliant play in the playoffs, the Bruins’ current goalie tandem may have played their last game together since Sweeney will likely be aggressive in the summer to move Ullmark. Considering a handful of other teams are looking for a netminder of his caliber, with only one season remaining on his contract, his days in Beantown are all but numbered.
