BRUINS SEND ULLMARK TO OTTAWA, DEMELO SIGNS IN WINNIPEG, AND MORE: AROUND THE LEAGUE
The 2023-24 NHL season officially ended last night after Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. With a new offseason comes change; however, this season, change began right before the season ended. Let’s dive right into it!
Senators Acquire Ullmark from Bruins in Blockbuster Trade
On a night that many considered “one of the biggest games in National Hockey League history,” the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins pulled off what is likely the biggest deal of the summer. Just 30 minutes before puck drop, Linus Ullmark was traded to the Senators by the Bruins in exchange for Joonas Korpisalo, Mark Kastelic, and a first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. As part of the transaction, the Senators will retain 25% of Korpisalo’s remaining salary.
Ullmark, who was part of the Bruins’ successful goaltender duo with Jeremy Swayman, had a strong regular season, posting a 22-10-7 record with a 2.57 goals-against average, .915 save percentage, and two shutouts in 40 games. However, his performance in the playoffs was less stellar, with an 0-1 record, a 3.90 GAA, and an .886 save percentage in two games.
The original plan for the Bruins was to have Ullmark as their No. 1 netminder this season. However, he alternated with the 25-year-old Swayman, who recorded a 25-10-8 record in 43 starts with a 2.53 GAA during the regular season. In the playoffs, Swayman took over after Ullmark’s Game 2 loss in the first-round series against Toronto, finishing with a 6-6 record and a 2.15 GAA.
This trade solidifies Jeremy Swayman as Boston’s No. 1 goaltender and gives Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney more cap space to work with. Korpisalo is expected to serve as a solid backup option for Boston unless he is flipped in another trade. The 30-year-old Korpisalo appeared in 55 games with the Senators during the 2023-24 season, posting a 21-26-4 record with a 3.27 GAA and an .890 save percentage.
In addition to Ullmark, the Bruins managed to reacquire their own first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, which had changed hands multiple times in recent seasons. This No. 25 overall pick was originally sent to the Red Wings in the trade involving Tyler Bertuzzi in March 2023 and was later acquired by the Senators as part of the Alex DeBrincat deal four months later.
Mark Kastelic, 25, also heads to Boston as part of the trade. Kastelic appeared in 63 games during the 2023-24 season with Ottawa, recording five goals and five assists for a total of 10 points. The 6-foot-3 forward adds size to Boston’s bottom-six unit and ranked third in penalty minutes (63) and fourth in hits (126) for Ottawa last season.
Jets Re-sign Defenceman Dylan DeMelo to Four-Year Deal
On Tuesday morning, the Winnipeg Jets announced the re-signing of defenceman Dylan DeMelo to a four-year contract.
DeMelo, 31, had a productive season with the Jets, contributing 31 points (three goals, 28 assists) in 82 regular-season games and adding one assist in five Stanley Cup Playoff games. His strong performance solidified his role on Winnipeg’s defensive core, particularly through his partnership with Norris Trophy candidate Josh Morrissey. This duo is set to continue their partnership through the 2027-28 NHL season.
A native of London, Ont., DeMelo logged an average of 21:44 minutes of ice time per game last season, the highest of his career and second on the team. His reliability and consistency have made him a cornerstone of the Jets’ defence.
Originally selected by the San Jose Sharks in the sixth round (179th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, DeMelo has built a solid nine-season career with the Jets, Sharks, and Ottawa Senators. Throughout his career, he has amassed 17 goals, 127 assists, and a plus-minus of +80 in 554 games.
Casey Mittelstadt Signs Three-Year Extension with Avalanche
On Tuesday morning, it was announced that Casey Mittelstadt, acquired at the trade deadline from the Buffalo Sabres, has signed a three-year contract extension with the Colorado Avalanche. According to Pierre LeBrun, the contract carries a $5.75 million average annual value (AAV).
Mittelstadt was a pending restricted free agent (RFA), and this move ensures he will be with the Avalanche until he becomes UFA-eligible in the summer of 2027. His new cap hit more than doubles his previous one, which was $2.5 million annually on a three-year deal. The eighth-overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft played parts of seven seasons for the Sabres before being traded to the Avalanche in exchange for defenceman Bowen Byram before the trade deadline.
Mittelstadt is coming off a strong season where he produced 57 points in 80 games. However, it was in the playoffs where he truly excelled, leading the Avalanche in even-strength points and finishing with nine points in 11 games. Avalanche General Manager Chris MacFarland praised Mittelstadt’s impact on the team: “Casey was a great fit for our lineup and a big contributor to our team down the stretch and in the playoffs. His game has improved every season and he took yet another big jump this past year.”
With Mittelstadt and Nathan MacKinnon anchoring the centre positions, Colorado’s core is solidified. This stability allows Calum Ritchie to develop at his own pace, as he is not expected to make the jump to the NHL next season. While a longer-term contract might have been preferable, the three-year deal was likely a more financially feasible option for the Avalanche at this time.
The Minnesota native has accumulated 196 points (66 goals, 130 assists) in 357 career games with the Sabres and Avalanche. MacFarland emphasized Mittelstadt’s potential: “We believe he has an even higher level to reach, and it was important to get him signed for several years. Casey is an exciting, playmaking centre with good vision and hands, and at just 25 years old, he is going to be a big part of our team moving forward.”
Florida Panthers to Celebrate First Stanley Cup Win with Parade in Fort Lauderdale
The Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 in Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final on Monday, clinching the franchise’s first Stanley Cup. To celebrate, the club will hold its Stanley Cup parade in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, June 30. While teams typically prefer to hold their parade closer to their championship game, the NHL schedule made that difficult.
The parade will start on State Road A1A at Riomar Street in Fort Lauderdale and continue down State Road A1A, ending north of Fort Lauderdale Beach Park across from Hotel Marren at Southeast Fifth Street, where the rally stage will be set up. This will be South Florida’s first championship parade since 2013, when the Miami Heat celebrated back-to-back NBA titles with LeBron James and the Big Three.
Unlike the NBA World Champion Boston Celtics, who also won on a Monday and held their parade on Friday of the same week, the Panthers parade was delayed to allow the Florida management team to participate following the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The Draft takes place on Friday, June 28, and runs through Saturday, June 29, at the Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Panthers star left wing Matthew Tkachuk shared his excitement for the upcoming celebration: “It’s gonna be the greatest party that’s probably happened in South Florida,” Tkachuk said in a postgame interview Monday night.
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