3 Teams That Will Look At Signing Goaltender Linus Ullmark

The Buffalo Sabres had one of the toughest seasons in their team's history this year, dealing with a Covid shutdown before returning and tying a modern NHL record for the longest losing streak in a season at 18 games. In the midst of all that, however, was a startlingly good season from Swedish netminder Linus Ullmark. Despite winning only 9 of his 20 starts, Ullmark posted a .917sv% and a 2.63 GAA, which is nothing short of astounding given his team's record. Ullmark has declined to sign a contract extension with Buffalo, intending to test the free-agent market this summer. Here are three teams that will be working the phones to try and bring him in.

Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver is very likely going to lose Braden Holtby to Seattle in expansion. Their other exposed players - Jake Virtanen, Loui Eriksson, Zack MacEwen, and so on - do not carry close to the same pedigree as Holtby, who has a Vezina Trophy to his name from 2016, and won the William Jennings Trophy in 2017. Oh, and he led the Capitals to a Stanley Cup in 2018. The Kraken won't be passing that up, which means Vancouver will need a goalie to play 1B to their starter Thatcher Demko. Ullmark would be an excellent addition to that team, and a tandem of him and Demko would be able to make up for some of the defensive failings that plagued the Canucks throughout the last season.

Edmonton Oilers

Ken Holland said in his end-of-year presser that he would like to re-sign Mike Smith for next season. Smith played his best hockey in the last decade with the Oilers last year, so it's only fair that he gets a modest payday for his work. The question becomes: Are Smtih and Koskinen a good enough tandem? Fans will tell you no, and there's a good chance Holland feels similarly. A Koskinen buyout seems imminent, and who better to take his place than Ullmark? Smith can't be the go-to guy in Edmonton forever, and Ullmark, who is only 27, could be their goalie of the future, allowing them to further push themselves into contender status and maintain that status for years to come. 

Colorado Avalanche

Colorado is going to have to make a tough choice this summer. In a flat cap, the Avs need to pay both Cale Makar and Gabriel Landeskog to keep their core together. Then in a couple years, some guy named Nathan MacKinnon will need a raise. Meanwhile, Vezina nominee Philipp Grubauer will be wanting a raise of his own this offseason, and Colorado may not be able to afford it. Should Grubauer walk, bringing in Linus Ullmark would help soften the blow. Ullmark has played his whole career on a Sabres team that struggles to escape the Draft lottery. Putting him behind a team with the talent that the Avs possess would be a nice change of pace for the young goalie, and he could potentially give them Grubauer-levels of play for a much more affordable price. A good defence like what the Avalanche have can help boost a goalie's numbers, and Ullmark's numbers are already pretty good.

Where do you think Ullmark will be playing next season?

Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports