In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Boston Bruins did have conversations about trading Linus Ullmark and while nothing ultimately happened, this could be a deal that is moved to this coming offseason. Meanwhile, the Toronto Maple Leafs knew they couldn’t get everything done at the deadline they wanted to. Flyers’ head coach John Tortorella refused to leave the bench after being ejected on Saturday. What will the fallout be? Finally, the Ottawa Senators tried to make moves on deadline day. What’s next for that team?
Bruins Had Multiple Conversations About Ullmark Trade
According to Elliotte Friedman, the Boston Bruins did have conversations about trading Linus Ullmark before this season’s NHL Trade Deadline. Friedman confirmed at least one trade was blocked by the goaltender. He also notes other conversations may have been moved to a later date.
Friedman noted in his Saturday Headlines report:
And as we all know now there was a team that was on his no-trade list, which he did not waive to. Which is his right, that is his contractual right. However, I think there’s also a second part to this. I do believe the Bruins as well and conversations with some teams that he cannot block a trade to. And obviously, those teams did not occur. But I think in a couple of cases, they were punted into the offseason. So I think this is going to be something that’s going to pick up again after the season. But right now the sense of, the Bruins obviously couldn’t get anything done and we’re in a situation where we’re gonna see where this goes after the season is over.”
Maple Leafs Had Done Their Deadline Scouting and Knew It Would Be Slow
GM Brad Treliving was on with Nick Kypreos and acknowledged that the deadline day was pretty slow for the Maple Leafs. They added Connor Dewar, but nothing else. Treliving explained he was aware that sitting idle was likely going to be the outcome for Toronto.
I don’t know if it was that busy for us today. You know, we kind of spent the week leading up to the deadline to, certain things that you, you may try to accomplish or trying to accomplish and have a good understanding of, of what you may or may not be able to get done.
Flyers’ Tortorella Could Be Facing Discipline from the NHL
Friedman tweeted on Sunday, “We’ve all been laughing about this tonight…we’ll see how things evolve tomorrow, but the NHL still has to weigh in. I don’t think it found the refusal to leave the bench as humorous as social media did.” Tortorella was ejected from the game but refused to leave the bench for a few minutes before finally departing. He gave the official an earful and footage went viral Saturday afternoon.
Senators Tried to be Active on Deadline Day
According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, Senators’ GM Steve Staios actively engaged in trade talks leading up to the deadline but ultimately made just one significant move – sending winger Vladimir Tarasenko to the Florida Panthers. Despite the limited deadline activity, Staios is optimistic that the groundwork laid in discussions with other GMs could make for a busier off-season.
Related: NHL Projected Lineups, Starting Goalies, Injuries, Updates
Garrioch reports that there was interest in Senators defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker. That said, no team was willing to meet Staios’ asking price. Garrioch adds:
League sources told Postmedia Friday the Senators were trying to deal the likes of forwards Dominik Kubalik and Mark Kastelic along with blueliner Erik Brannstrom. It’s believed there were tire kickers for those players, but there were no takers. Kastelic has a contract for next season so he’ll likely be back, but this isn’t good news for Kubalik or Brannstrom. The latter is a restricted free agent and he may not receive a qualifying offer July 1.
source – ‘STEVE STAIOS: Senators’ GM is confident he’s done groundwork for future moves’ – Bruce Garrioch – The Ottawa Sun – 03/08/2024
Key players like Thomas Chabot, Drake Batherson, Jakob Chychrun, and Claude Giroux are considered part of the team’s core and are expected to stay put for the foreseeable future.
