Reported Linus Ullmark trade almost took place on Deadline Day!

According to Kevin Weekes on ESPN, we almost got to see a Linus Ullmark trade out of Boston on Friday. Weekes reported that the Bruins thought they had something in the works for their goalie, adding that “there was a deal that he essentially nixed, in large part based on geography, I’m told.”

Chatter had heated up earlier this week when Bruins insider Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic wondered if Boston could dare to trade Ullmark, along with the strong belief that Jeremy Swayman is ready to be the team’s full-time starter. The young goalie signed a one-year, $3.475 million contract in arbitration last summer and is scheduled for restricted free agency again in July. He could be given the full starting role and the Bruins could go get an affordable veteran backup option to support him in the future.

A move involving Ullmark would have provided some extra room for the Bruins to upgrade other areas of the roster while also freeing up $5 million in cap space, though Boston was quite active on Friday.

The Bruins acquired defenseman Andrew Peeke from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Jakub Zboril. They also picked up some Stanley Cup-winning pedigree in veteran forward Pat Maroon from the Minnesota Wild.

It’s been a busy day from general manager Don Sweeney, but it came close to a even crazier one with Weekes reporting how close we came to an Ullmark trade on Deadline Day.

Phew.

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