The Boston Bruins started free agency Wednesday by making a plethora of moves to improve both on their defense and offensive depth.
Boston announced the signings of six players and one specific agreement with goaltender Linus Ullmark prompted general manager Don Sweeney to trade fellow netminder Dan Vladar.
That trade of Vladar, along with the slew of left wingers signed, elicited one thought: Does Sweeney anticipate any additional trades in the short term?
“You never know when you may or may not explore trade opportunities,” Sweeney said Wednesday during a video conference with reporters. “We signed each and every one of these players with the intention that they’re a part of our club and to have a very deep hockey team. We have a couple young players as well that are going to be integrated in there. Hopefully we have a real competitive camp.
“Every player that we had the opportunity to speak with was excited about joining our group because they know they’re competitive,” Sweeney added. “They’re led by a core group of guys that are driven to win and we’re hopeful that all of them can assimilate seamlessly. And obviously we’ll have some challenges associated with that. But players like Nick (Foligno) and the leadership he brings, Tomas Nosek played in a highly competitive environment in Vegas, and I just think overall, we tried to add to the depth of our group not knowing whether, with David (Krejci) and Tuukka (Rask), those unique situations.”
Sweeney specifically addressed Boston’s goaltender situation during his availability Wednesday, as well. He believes the addition of Ullmark allows Rask, who is recovering from surgery on a torn labrum, the time to get healthy and benefits Swayman as the young goaltender will benefit from more time to develop.
