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Player Discussion Linus Ullmark

Number8

Number8

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Oct 31, 2007
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I think we should ride him hard before he’s even played a regular season game in the black and gold. In our best interest that he feels intense pressure from the fan base and tightens up a bit. I hate it when a new guy feels welcome. He’s getting paid a lot of money and should be our piñata.:sarcasm:
 
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loosemoose

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May 31, 2020
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missingchicklet said:
Maybe Buffalo's defense wasn't as bad as advertised :sarcasm:
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Or maybe he had high sv% because he got to face a lot of shots. So far based on eye test his lateral mobility seems awful, especially compared to Sway and Rask. Haven't watched him enough to say if that's a regular feature of his game. Hopefully not.
 
Fopppa

Fopppa

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Jan 3, 2009
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Say what you will about the Ullmark contract, but if we were going into the season with Swayman and Vladar we'd be so much worse off. Not just for this season, but for the long term as well. The presence of Ullmark allows Swayman the freedom to develop at his own pace instead of being forced into the starting role with all the pressure that entails (yeah, I'm assuming Swayman would beat out Vladar pretty handily). Without an established starter there we'd run the very real risk of breaking him like Philly may absolutely have done with Hart (jury's still out on that one). Ullmark fills a purpose, he's here to assume the load. Rask possibly coming back is a different kettle of fish entirely, but I much prefer an Ullmark signing to keeping Halak or someone else of that ilk as I think Swayman needs proper competition to become the best he can be, not just someone to pick up the slack if he wavers.
 
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22Brad Park

22Brad Park

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Nov 23, 2008
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Fopppa said:
Say what you will about the Ullmark contract, but if we were going into the season with Swayman and Vladar we'd be so much worse off. Not just for this season, but for the long term as well. The presence of Ullmark allows Swayman the freedom to develop at his own pace instead of being forced into the starting role with all the pressure that entails (yeah, I'm assuming Swayman would beat out Vladar pretty handily). Without an established starter there we'd run the very real risk of breaking him like Philly may absolutely have done with Hart (jury's still out on that one). Ullmark fills a purpose, he's here to assume the load. Rask possibly coming back is a different kettle of fish entirely, but I much prefer an Ullmark signing to keeping Halak or someone else of that ilk as I think Swayman needs proper competition to become the best he can be, not just someone to pick up the slack if he wavers.
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Yup I agree with you for sure here .But once Rask comes back things change bigtime but cross that bridge then cause you will sure know what you have by then.
 

BruinsNetwork

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Jan 8, 2021
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22Brad Park said:
.
Yup I agree with you for sure here .But once Rask comes back things change bigtime but cross that bridge then cause you will sure know what you have by then.
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To be fair, I don't think that's really as cut and dry as you allude to. If Rask comes back–and that's still an "if" at this juncture–we don't even know what he'll be capable of post-surgery and recovery. Rask could be better than he was last year and that wouldn't surprise me, but he's also 34 and turns 35 in the spring.

The Bruins paid a premium for Ullmark because of a weak UFA goalie crop, Buffalo wanting to retain him and they'll have security of a solid, unspectacular goalie who played well for a bad team. Agreed with your points about Swayman and how it's a good plan.

I think Rask being a question mark, as well as Swayman being a bit too green at the moment to be a full-time No. 1 is definitely a reason to have signed Ullmark.

Either way, I'm completely OK with this goalie scenario that the Bruins have created. They removed almost $3m per year with Halak and replaced it with less than $1m in Swayman, but also replaced Rask's $7m per season with Ullmark's $5m.
 
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Eddie Munson

Eddie Munson

This year is my year. I can feel it. ‘86 baby!
Jul 11, 2008
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Fopppa said:
Say what you will about the Ullmark contract, but if we were going into the season with Swayman and Vladar we'd be so much worse off. Not just for this season, but for the long term as well. The presence of Ullmark allows Swayman the freedom to develop at his own pace instead of being forced into the starting role with all the pressure that entails (yeah, I'm assuming Swayman would beat out Vladar pretty handily). Without an established starter there we'd run the very real risk of breaking him like Philly may absolutely have done with Hart (jury's still out on that one). Ullmark fills a purpose, he's here to assume the load. Rask possibly coming back is a different kettle of fish entirely, but I much prefer an Ullmark signing to keeping Halak or someone else of that ilk as I think Swayman needs proper competition to become the best he can be, not just someone to pick up the slack if he wavers.
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Love the player and wish him nothing but success. 100% agree Ullmark fills a massive need. That said, that contract has the possibility to handcuff the Bruins for years and I will never understand why he got the cap, the term, and most importantly the NMC that he got.
 
rocketdan9

rocketdan9

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Feb 5, 2009
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BruinsNetwork said:
To be fair, I don't think that's really as cut and dry as you allude to. If Rask comes back–and that's still an "if" at this juncture–we don't even know what he'll be capable of post-surgery and recovery. Rask could be better than he was last year and that wouldn't surprise me, but he's also 34 and turns 35 in the spring.

The Bruins paid a premium for Ullmark because of a weak UFA goalie crop, Buffalo wanting to retain him and they'll have security of a solid, unspectacular goalie who played well for a bad team. Agreed with your points about Swayman and how it's a good plan.

I think Rask being a question mark, as well as Swayman being a bit too green at the moment to be a full-time No. 1 is definitely a reason to have signed Ullmark.

Either way, I'm completely OK with this goalie scenario that the Bruins have created. They removed almost $3m per year with Halak and replaced it with less than $1m in Swayman, but also replaced Rask's $7m per season with Ullmark's $5m.
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I still don't understand the NMC provided

For a goalie that hasn't been fully healthy and somewhat unproven outside of Buffalo

Cassidy is right in that some of the goals given haven't been good. (through the body kind)

Luckily it is only preseason
 

BruinsNetwork

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rocketdan9 said:
I still don't understand the NMC provided

For a goalie that hasn't been fully healthy and somewhat unproven outside of Buffalo

Cassidy is right in that some of the goals given haven't been good. (through the body kind)

Luckily it is only preseason
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Players want the security from their NMC, NTC or M-NTC contracts. Seems like Bruins offered him security and that was the deciding factor to get him here. The deal really isn't that bad. They essentially cut their goalie expenses in half this season. If Rask returns, which all signs point to that being a scenario, then he'll probably sign a prorated one-year deal for this season anyways, especially since he himself said he would be a "cheap goalie" for them.
 
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missingchicklet

missingchicklet

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Jan 24, 2010
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Don't know whether he's a slow starter or not. Rask sometimes had slow starts to the season then got into the zone and caught fire. Impossible to fully judge a goalie on a new team just by preseason. Obviously Ullmark's lateral movement is a concern. Bs skaters can help remedy some of that by staying out of the damn box. A lot of PP goals are scored with quick cross-ice passes that require quick lateral movement by the goalie. Bruce really needs to make cutting down on stupid penalties a point of emphasis. Kuraly is gone so that automatically helps some in that department. Cliffy and Griz are still on the team, though, so those two need to play smarter.
 
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bp13

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rocketdan9 said:
Damn... but not surprised. Cassidy can be a...
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I've never understood why goalies need to get a special pass from coach criticism. I love that he's willing to get on goalies like they're any other member of the team. I get that you want them to be confident, but confidence is important for any player. If a goalie is unprepared or performs poorly, by all means call him out.
 
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rocketdan9

rocketdan9

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bp13 said:
I've never understood why goalies need to get a special pass from coach criticism. I love that he's willing to get on goalies like they're any other member of the team. I get that you want them to be confident, but confidence is important for any player. If a goalie is unprepared or performs poorly, by all means call him out.
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I mean DS just signed him.

A casual fan from the outside may think, Cassidy is stepping on DS toes

It is way too early to assess Ullmark performance. Maybe Cassidy is being hard now ...so that Ullmark plays better... ultimately it makes DS look good

On the flip side.. I think Cassidy needs relax a little .. depending on the situation. Seems like a perfectionists. Wants rookies to not make mistakes. If they do, he will bench them and want them to observe/think about their mistakes. Which may work or drain their confidence
 
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BruinDust

BruinDust

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Aug 2, 2005
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Folks, were talking about a goaltender that went 9-6-3 on a Sabres team that at one point lost 18 games....in a row.

There is going to be an adjustment period coming from Buffalo to a very structure team defensive scheme like the Bruins employ.

But pretty much every goaltender who has played in Boston in the Julien/Cassidy era has seen a bump in their numbers due to the team defensive play. In my opinion, the Bruins are the NHL's definitive defensive organization in the post-lockout era. They are what the Devils were in the mid 90s/early 2000s when it comes to overall team defense, that sort of reputation.

It would shock me if Ullmark can't succeed here in Boston given the defensive structure he's playing behind. Part of the adjustment might be he'll need to get used to longer stretches of little to no scoring chances against, a luxury he didn't have in Buffalo.
 
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