Who Is the Bruins’ Backup if They Trade Linus Ullmark?
Speculation is heating up that the Boston Bruins will be trading Linus Ullmark at some point in the coming months. It seems like the logical play. While the famed goalie rotation has worked like a charm in the regular season, there is just one net; that net was Jeremy Swayman’s in the 2024 postseason, and his clutch play indicated that it should be his in future playoff appearances.
That leaves Ullmark as the odd man out. If they were to trade him, they would need to address the question of who will replace the Swede and back up Swayman. Here are their options.
Option A: Brandon Bussi
Brandon Bussi has been in the Bruins organization for three years. The 25-year-old hails from Long Island, New York and has had an exceptional three years with the Providence Bruins, however, he has not made an NHL appearance as of yet (though he has been called up as a backup several times). During his time in the American Hockey League (AHL), he has appeared in 78 games, posting an impressive .918 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.55 goals-against average (GAA). His numbers have been even better when the games get more intense in the Calder Cup Playoffs: in eight appearances he has posted a .924 SV% and a 2.24 GAA.
Bussi is a restricted free agent at the moment. The Bruins could likely bring him back on a bargain deal considering his lack of NHL experience. If they were to trade Ullmark and make Bussi their backup goalie, they would be saving multiple millions of dollars in cap space for a team that already has money to spend. It would be a high-risk, high-reward play: banking on a goalie who has had zero NHL experience to be the team’s backup creates a disastrous worst-case scenario, however, they could also be getting a solid backup for cheaper than a veteran.
Option B: Sign A Veteran Backup
The Bruins’ other option would be to sign a veteran backup. There are a few solid options that are set to hit the market this July, those include Laurent Brossoit, Kevin Lankinen, and Casey DeSmith. Each of those netminders are coming off contracts which carry average annual values of between $1.75 million and $2 million. Even if they were to require a pay bump from this past season (which is likely the case for at least Brossoit), each of them would be far cheaper than Ullmark and a more sure-fire option than Bussi.
The Solution
If the Bruins were to trade Ullmark, there is likely a hybrid solution here that is a combination of the two options above. They should look to sign a backup who has NHL experience. Whoever plays behind Swayman is going to have to play a meaningful number of games. Swayman has never played more than 44 games in an NHL season, he will almost certainly play more than that in 2024-25 but it is unlikely that he will be expected to leap to becoming a 60-game starter. With that said it would be foolish to rely on a netminder with zero NHL experience to play the most important position on the ice for 20-30 games. The Bruins should pursue a veteran who they can sign for somewhere around the ballpark of $2 million annually, ideally on a one-year deal.
In addition to signing a veteran backup, they now have the opportunity to take a legitimate look at Bussi. They should bring him back for around the league minimum and give him a shot to claim the backup role. If he does the job well, he is their answer going forward. If not, it will not be the end of the world given that they have a reliable veteran who can take up the second goalie position.
