Last summer, Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney had some tough decisions to make when it came to his roster construction for the 2024-25 season. He had several free agents, but there was no room to bring them all back. Whether it was through a trade or free agency, there was a large amount of turnover with the Black and Gold, and most of them were key players.
Some of the losses hurt and instead of bringing back these five players, Sweeney opted to go in a different direction with his roster, bringing in center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Nikita Zadorov to name a few of the pieces added. Let's not forget the turnaround that goalie Joonas Korpisalo is having in his first season in Boston. Let's take a look at how some former Bruins are faring with their new teams during the three-day holiday break.
Linus Ullmark
The biggest decision facing Sweeney last off-season was what to do with his goaltending tandem of Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark. In the end, Sweeney traded Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators for a package that included Korpisalo, Mark Kastelic, and a 2024 first-round pick. Over the last couple of seasons, Ottawa has struggled and been out of the playoff race by the holidays, however, this season is not the case.
Thanks to an 8-0-1 run by Ullmark since Nov. 27, the Senators currently sit in the Eastern Conference second wild-card spot at the break. The 2022-23 Vezina Trophy winner is 12-7-2 with his new team this season with a 2.38 GAA and a .915 SV%. He was injured in Sunday night's loss to the Edmonton Oilers, but regardless, Ottawa is going to be a problem this year in the East, thanks to Ullmark.