Linus Ullmark already has a lot of eyes on him and he hasn’t even played his first game in a Bruins uniform yet.
Boston signed the goalie to a four-year deal in the offseason, which came as a surprise to some given the fact general manager Don Sweeney said the door was open for Tuukka Rask to return once he’s recovered from hip surgery.
Ullmark embarks on a new journey with the Bruins after spending the first six years of his NHL career with the Buffalo Sabres, something he’s very much looking forward to.
“Very eager to get started,” Ullmark told The Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont. “Sometimes in my years in Buffalo, it felt more like a revenge tour — wanting to show we were not the worst team in the league, that we could step up. But we weren’t able to put it together for a full season.”
Ullmark went 50-47-13 with a .912 save percentage and 2.78 goals-against average during his time in Buffalo.
The 28-year-old certainly has some big shoes to fill on a team that has high hopes for a Stanley Cup run, but Ullmark isn’t feeling added pressure.
“A very positive thing for me,” Ullmark said, “I don’t see it as stress or pressure. I have that eagerness and excitement to try something new, going to a place I think and believe that winning the Stanley Cup is not a distant dream, but more a close reality.”
Ullmark never really has had the reality of playing for a Stanley Cup as part of the Sabres, and while the window isn’t closed, there is limited time for the current Bruins’ core to win their first Stanley Cup since the 2010-11 season.
