Bruins' Stanley Cup Title Hopes Depend on Linus Ullmark Trade Amid NHL Rumors

For the Boston Bruins to win their first Stanley Cup since 2011 and seventh overall, the organization must solve an issue that has faced them for the last two seasons: a goaltending controversy involving two of the best at the position in the NHL.

Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman have two of the best save percentages in hockey (.915 and .916, respectively) and Ullmark won the Vezina Trophy as the sport's best at his position a year ago.

Both are similarly excellent in the net but Ullmark has a $5 million cap hit to Swayman's $3,475,000 hit. With the team needing other pieces, including a forward and defenseman, the front office must pull the trigger and execute a deal for Ullmark.

The team will have plenty of potential suitors seeking a goalie of that caliber, including the Ottawa Senators, who Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Citizen reported are stepping up their efforts to acquire the all-world goalie.

"League sources say the Senators have circled back to the Bruins to see if there's a fit to acquire Ullmark to steady the club's struggling net, and those talks have intensified," he wrote.

Jacob Markstrom is already off the market following a trade between the Calgary Flames and New Jersey Devils and Ullmark is, arguably, a better player. With the Bruins missing out on the former, working with Boston to put together a deal for the award-winning goaltender is the right move.

Especially considering the Senators did not have either goalie with a save percentage above .900.

A deal would alleviate the cap space for the Bruins while also exorcising the controversy surrounding which tender will be in the net for which game. While some have suggested that the competition between them pushed Swayman and Ullmark to play at their best whenever they had an opportunity in the net, it also prevented the team from adding the necessary pieces to make a legitimate run at the Stanley Cup.

With the Bruins potentially bringing one of several teams looking to acquire Elias Lindholm in free agency, it will need the financial relief that trading Ullmark would provide.

If the Senators do pursue Ullmark, it will be the second time, as the team failed to put together a deal ahead of the trade deadline.

It is a mutually beneficial deal on the surface. Now, it will be up to the teams involved to put together a fair deal so that the Senators get their goalie and the Bruins can move on to beefing up their lineup as they look to get back to the NHL mountaintop.