Ullmark shared his wish to stay in Boston
Linus Ullmark had never been the subject of trade rumors before the 2023-24 season, and the Boston Bruins goaltender admitted it was challenging to ignore the speculation.
“Was it hard? Yeah, it was hard,” Ullmark told reporters at Warrior Ice Arena on Sunday, according to a team-provided transcript. “Because you’re very comfortable where you are. You don’t want to move when you feel like you’re playing well, and you have the team, you have the bonds that you’ve made with your teammates.”
Ullmark made these comments during the Bruins’ end-of-season media availability. Boston’s season ended with a defeat against the Panthers at TD Garden on Friday night, with Florida winning the best-of-seven series 4-2. Ullmark did not start any games in the series as Jeremy Swayman started 12 of 13 playoff games, which contributed to the trade speculation surrounding Ullmark.
Ullmark has one season remaining on his current contract. The 2022-23 Vezina Trophy winner hopes to finish out his contract in Boston and has expressed his satisfaction playing with Swayman, who will be a restricted free agent this offseason.
“For me, it’s above my pay grade as well, really,” Ullmark said. “I don’t have the luxury to choose that. If I could, I’m probably going to say the same thing as everybody else, but I want to stay, and I’m going to stay. But we live in a world where professional sports is, you’ve got to deal with the hand you’ve been dealt with. I wouldn’t want anything else than to come back here, get a bit of a revenge tour.”
These sentiments were echoed by other players in the locker room. Jake DeBrusk, Pat Maroon, and others also expressed their desire to return to Boston for another run.