Boston — Not only did the Bruins lose to the Coyotes on Tuesday night, but they may have lost goaltender Linus Ullmark for the foreseeable future. A lower-body ailment forced the goalie to be helped off the ice during overtime.
The injury happened at 2:40 of the extra frame as Ullmark rushed to stop Arizona’s Logan Cooley from wristing the ball with his glove. Ullmark crumpled to the ground in agony as the puck flew over the net.
The 30-year-old stayed on the ice until he was lifted up by the Boston training staff. For Ullmark to get off the ice and into the Boston locker room, he needed help from teammates.
Before departing the rink, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner had stopped 32 of 35 shots. With less than a minute remaining, Jeremy Swayman replaced Ullmark and let Nick Schmaltz score the game-winning goal on the lone shot he saw.
If Ullmark (13-5-2,.917 save percentage) is out for an extended period of time, Swayman (11-3-6,.920 save percentage) would be the one starting in net most of the time. While Ullmark is out, Brandon Bussi of Providence, who is 10-6-3 with a.901 save percentage for the P-Bruins, will probably be brought up to support Swayman.
Boston’s road trip has been expensive since youngster Matt Poitras, 19, departed Tuesday’s game with an injury that was not reported. In the shootout loss to the Avalanche in Colorado on Monday night, the Bruins also lost defenseman Brandon Carlo due to an upper-body injury.
When the holiday roster freeze is lifted on Thursday at 12:01 a.m. EST, another center might become available on the NHL trade market as the Boston Bruins’ need for more skill up the middle becomes more and more apparent.
Boston Hockey Now has received confirmation from an NHL executive source that center Tyler Johnson of the Chicago Blackhawks will be open to trade on the NHL trade market. The five-foot-eight, 185-pound pivot, 33, is in the last year of a $35 million, seven-year contract. Johnson has already accrued $2,005,209 of his $5 million salary cap hit this season, according to our colleagues at Puckpedia. In 34 games this season, Johnson has seven goals and four assists.
When the holiday roster freeze is lifted on Thursday at 12:01 a.m. EST, another center might become available on the NHL trade market as the Boston Bruins’ need for more skill up the middle becomes more and more apparent.
Boston Hockey Now has received confirmation from an NHL executive source that center Tyler Johnson of the Chicago Blackhawks will be open to trade on the NHL trade market. The five-foot-eight, 185-pound pivot, 33, is in the last year of a $35 million, seven-year contract. Johnson has already accrued $2,005,209 of his $5 million salary cap hit this season, according to our colleagues at Puckpedia. In 34 games this season, Johnson has seven goals and four assists.
On July 27, 2021, a few days after the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, Johnson was moved to the Blackhawks following back-to-back Stanley Cup victories with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021. In addition to gaining a 2023 second round pick, the Blackhawks were unable to release veteran defenseman Brent Seabrook from his three-year deal, which has a $6.7 million salary cost charge.
Johnson’s first two seasons in Chicago were marred by injuries. He played just 26 games in the 2021-22 season and finished with three goals and four assists. He got 12 goals and 20 assists in 56 games during the previous campaign. In 73 games, he recorded 29 goals and 43 assists during his greatest NHL season, which took place in 2014–15. Along with helping the Lightning get to the 2015 Stanley Cup Final, where they were defeated by the Blackhawks in six games, Johnson also recorded 13 goals and 10 assists in 26 Stanley Cup playoff games that season. During the 2018–19 season, Johnson scored 29 goals in 80 games, matching his career high in goals.
This season, trade speculations involving the Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames center Elias Lindholm have persisted. NHL source Pierre LeBrun was the most recent to connect the Boston Bruins to the Flames’ prospective 2024 unrestricted free agent last week on “TSN Insider Trading.” He also connected the Colorado Avalanche, another team vying for the Stanley Cup.