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Linus Ullmark’s absence on Bruins bench sparked trade-deadline hysteria
"I’m looking in front of me, and I’m like, ‘There is no place for me to sit.'"
The week leading up to the NHL trade deadline is always rife with drama.
Beyond the seemingly endless stream of trade whispers and rumors of blockbuster deals, even the most minute details — an absence in practice, handshakes at the rink — tend to be over-analyzed.
Linus Ullmark can attest to said hysteria on Monday night.
With rumors swirling about the reigning Vezina Trophy winner’s long-term future in Boston, several reporters tweeted during Monday’s road game against the Maple Leafs that the 30-year-netminder was not on the Bruins’ bench.
Ullmark — who was backing up Jeremy Swayman for Monday’s contest — was present and accounted for at the end of Boston’s bench at the start of the game, but disappeared around the midway point of the opening period.
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So what was it?
Had Ullmark been traded in the middle of the game? Had he already packed his gear and left for the airport?
The actual cause was far less dramatic.
A lack of real estate on the visitor’s bench at Scotiabank Arena was the actual culprit, with Ullmark escaping his cramped surroundings and opting to watch the game from the locker room.
As noted by Bruins team reporter Eric Russo, Ullmark’s absence in Toronto is hardly an outlier — with the lack of space forcing backup goalies to take in the game away from the ice up in Toronto.
While the NESN broadcast clarified as the game went on that Ullmark was watching the game from down the tunnel, the veteran goalie got a kick out of the social-media frenzy that played out as Monday’s game went on.
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Ullmark was oblivious to the discourse until Travis Basciotta, the Bruins’ director of communications and content, informed him midgame.
“He made me realize that something was brewing on social media,” Ullmark told The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa postgame. “I had no idea. I got sent a couple ones now. Yeah, it’s hilarious.”
“I’ve sat on the bench before,” Ullmark continued. “It has been a tight squeeze. I went out there before the first period. I’m looking in front of me, and I’m like, ‘There is no place for me to sit.’ I had a stool next to me so I could sit. But then I would be, like, with the fans. I didn’t want to do that. I was going to be in the way all the time. So I’m like, ‘OK, it’s better if I just sit inside to watch the game so I’m not in the way.’”
The Bruins also poked fun at the storyline once Boston secured a 4-1 win in Toronto on their own Twitter/X account after Ullmark returned to the ice to take part in his usual goalie hug with Jeremy Swayman.
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Ullmark added his own retort on X Monday night.
Of course, the trade rumors hovering around Ullmark won’t end until the trade deadline officially passes at 3 p.m. on Friday.
The Bruins have achieved plenty of success over the years with a 1-2 punch of Ullmark and Swayman in net. But with few available assets on their current roster, the Bruins could gain some much-needed draft capital or NHL talent in a deal involving Ullmark.
And if Boston ends up inking Swayman to a long-term extension, Ullmark could become expendable — especially if Swayman’s expected payday leads to the goalie tandem accounting for $11-12 million against the cap moving forward.
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