NHL Trade Rumors: Insider believes Senators will push for Bruins' Linus Ullmark again, Devils too in the mix

NHL insider Bruce Garrioch believes the Ottawa Senators will make another attempt to acquire goaltender Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins this offseason. Previously, the Senators tried to bid over Ullmark at the NHL trade deadline in March.

Ullmark has one year left on his contract at a $5 million cap hit (as per CapFriendly). He split starting duties with Jeremy Swayman this past season but only made one playoff start as Swayman took over in the net.

The Bruins want to sign Swayman to a long-term extension, which likely means Ullmark will be available via trade.

"The indications are (Steve) Staios will pick up the phone again to see if there’s a fit to make a deal for Ullmark..." Garrioch said.

"To acquire Ullmark, the Senators’ offer will have to drastically improve and you can be certain the Devils will circle back because, after hiring head coach Sheldon Keefe on Thursday, the club needs to get a goalie."

The Senators, Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils were among the teams interested in trading for the 30-year-old Ullmark before the deadline. However, Ullmark reportedly refused to change his 15-team no-trade list, which torpedoed a possible deal with the Devils.

The Senators must convince Ullmark to waive his clause and accept a trade to Ottawa if they want to acquire him.

Ullmark said at his end-of-season media availability that he wants to stay in Boston:

"I got one more year. I wouldn’t want anything else than to come back here, get a little bit of a revenge tour. I’m very excited, motivated for what’s to come."

However, the Bruins' plans with Swayman may force Linus Ullmark out.

Bruins’ GM Don Sweeney discusses Linus Ullmark's status

Don Sweeney commented on the status of goaltender Linus Ullmark, who has one year left on his contract. With the Bruins looking to sign restricted free agent Jeremy Swayman to a long-term extension, Ullmark's future in Boston is unclear.

“We’re gonna find a landing spot with Jeremy Swayman (on a contract), and if we can make the math work, we’re going to have the best tandem. If we can’t, we’re going to explore. And for Linus, he may come to us and change his mind, that may occur as well,” Sweeney said as per NHL.com.

"Right now, we were very happy to sign Linus and, in a perfect world, we would keep the tandem because I think it’s damn good. But we’re going to explore opportunities. My phone’s going to ring, I’m going to make calls. That’s just what the job requires.”

While Sweeney would prefer to keep both goalies, the Bruins will likely trade Linus Ullmark if they can't make the salary cap math work.