Goaltenders are on the move as NHL teams prepare for next season, and the trades made so far are far from surprising.
Center Pierre-Luc Dubois said he was surprised that Los Angeles sent him to Washington to replace goaltender Darcy Kuemper, but his looming no-movement clause on July 1 was the impetus for the move. The Kings filled their hole in net after 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark declined to join them at the March trade deadline.
Boston finally traded Ullmark on Monday, getting a first-round pick, depth center Mark Kastelic and a new backup, Ottawa’s Joonas Korpisalo, in a deal completed just before Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. Jacob Markstrom knew there were rumors in New Jersey wanting to get him out of Calgary, and that move came early in the series, with teams across the league making major trades before Florida clinched the Cup.
Much more movement is expected in the coming days, before and during Friday and Saturday’s draft in Las Vegas. A look at the big names who have already switched places:
Pierre-Luc Dubois
He turned 26 this week, but has been traded three times since entering the league. The first two were his choice, but this one was not – a cross-country move 12 months since signing an eight-year, $68 million contract with the Kings.
The trade came after Dubois didn’t fit in in Los Angeles under two coaches: fired Todd McLellan and interim replacement Jim Hiller, who got the full-time job after making the playoffs and losing in the first round. Dubois scored 16 goals and 24 assists for 40 points, his lowest career totals in a full 82-game season.
“It wasn’t necessarily the season I wanted, so I was already motivated,” Dubois said Wednesday. “And then anything like that happens, I think any guy in the league will admit there’s extra motivation behind it. You want to do well even more.
Darcy Kuemper
After losing the starting job in Washington, Kuemper found himself the odd man out with three years remaining on his contract with a $5.25 million salary cap hit. Charlie Lindgren led the Capitals to the playoffs, and they wanted to resolve an organizational logjam in goal to make room for prospect Clay Stevenson or back-to-back American Hockey League Calder Cup champion Hunter Shepard.
Now, two years after supporting Colorado to the Cup, Kuemper had a 13-4-3 record with a 3.31 goals-against average and an .890 save percentage last season.
“I want to prove that last year was just an isolated case,” Kuemper said. “I believe I can come in and be a stabilizing force in net and provide the defense the team needs.”
Kuemper is expected to replace Cam Talbot along with David Rittich in Los Angeles
Linus Ullmark
One of the first questions Ullmark asked in his first conversations with reporters since joining the Senators was about waiving the no-trade clause that could block a deal for half the league. Don’t worry because Ottawa didn’t participate.
Now, as for staying in Canada’s capital beyond the final season of his contract, the big Swede who turns 31 this summer isn’t ready to commit to anything in the way of a long-term extension.
“The whole contract situation and the conversations around that is something that (general manager Steve Staios) and my agent will handle externally,” Ullmark said. always reach me.”
Ullmark gives Ottawa a major upgrade in net, pairing him with compatriot and good friend Anton Forsberg. Korpisalo, now playing behind Jeremy Swayman in Boston, could also benefit from a better Bruins defense than he had with the Senators.
Jacob Markstrom
Although the Devils had been in talks to acquire Markstrom from the Flames for several months, he had trouble sleeping earlier this month when he knew a trade was close to completion. Once that happened, he was excited to play for the organization that once had Martin Brodeur, the Hall of Fame goaltender whom Markstrom played against in his NHL debut on Jan. 23, 2011.
New Jersey is counting on Markstrom to solve the network problem that contributed most to their loss of the playoffs last season.
“This is a big challenge,” he said. “It’s a big team with a lot of expectations. In the goalkeeper position there is pressure and I have been on teams where there is pressure on the goalkeeper and in the Canadian market, some of them. I know what is expected.
