NHL Rumors: Linus Ullmark to NJ Devils "Makes Too Much Sense"

The word is out, as we reported on Tuesday, that not only have the New Jersey Devils made finding a No. 1 goaltender their top priority this offseason, but GM Tom Fitzgerald said he's willing to trade a top pick in this year's draft to accomplish that.

All of this has prompted Andrew Fantucchio of Boston Hockey Now to surmise that a trade with the Boston Bruins for Linus Ullmark is a no-brainer.

Not only does a trade involving Ullmark and the (Devils') No. 10 overall pick make too much sense for the Devils, it also does so for the Bruins.

Boston has a real shortage of top draft picks due to trades to add win-now talent over the past few seasons. In fact, they don't have a single pick in the first three rounds this year, and only three picks in the draft overall. "It’d be wise for Bruins GM Don Sweeney to acquire whatever draft capital he can to restock a shallow Boston prospect pool," writes Fantucchio.

The Bruins could also survive dealing the 2022-23 Vezina Trophy winner as they saw Jeremy Swayman step up big-time this season and prove that he is a legit No. 1. In addition, they're going to have to pony up some big cash for him this summer as an RFA, and the $5 million savings from what Ullmark is owed next season will come in handy.

As for the Devils, they finished 27th in the NHL in the just-concluded campaign with an .896 save percentage while Ullmark finished with a .915 Sv%, and has a career .918 mark.

One big snag in a potential Devils-Bruins deal of this sort would be a repeat of what happened at the trade deadline, when Ullmark utilized his 16-team no-movement clause and blocked a deal that the Bruins thought they had done with the LA Kings.

The other issue that could make things tough for the Bruins to get a deal done is that Fitzgerald has two other top-notch goalies on the market to consider as well, in the Calgary Flames' Jacob Markstrom and the Nashville Predators' Juuse Saros.

Nevertheless, concludes Fantucchio, this is an avenue the Bruins must try to pursue.