Where the Linus Ullmark trade is biting the Senators
The Ottawa Senators were in search of finding their goaltender for the future after missing the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season. This past June, the Senators made a trade to acquire Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins.
Ullmark won the 2023 Vezina Trophy in Boston, and Ottawa saw enough of Joonas Korpisalo after just one season.
At the time of the trade, the primary part of the trade came down to the teams swapping goaltenders and the Senators also trading away a late 2024 first-round draft pick to the Bruins. However, one part of the trade has helped the Bruins out that it might come back and bite the Senators.
Mark Kastelic has taken off in Boston after the Ullmark trade leaving the Sens scratching their heads
Mark Kastelic was the lone player that was involved in the Ullmark trade. From 2021-2024, Kastelic played in 144 games and recorded 25 points with the Senators. Kastelic recorded just 10 points for the Senators last season.
This season with the Bruins, Kastelic has exceeded expectations. Kastelic is tied for first on the Bruins for the most points on the team with five. Kastelic recorded his first two-goal game of the season in just the second game of the Bruins' season, and it was his first two-goal game since April 2022.
Two games later, Kastelic recorded the first three-point game of his career when he recorded three assists. In three of the Bruins' five games, Kastelic recorded a +3 rating and Kastelic has the second highest +/- rating on the Bruins with a +8, so Kastelic's impact on the Bruins is being known.
The Senators were highly satisfied with the results of the Ullmark trade after Korpisalo's disaster Bruins debut when he allowed in six goals in the Bruins' season opener. However, Kastelic has helped the trade help swing in the Bruins' favor with his production, and also due to Ullmark missing the past two games due to a strain injury.
The Senators fell to 2-2-0 after last night's 3-1 loss against the New Jersey Devils, and are currently behind the Bruins in the standings by two points. With how Kastelic has played this season, the Senators might be kicking themselves for trading away Kastelic and not someone else.
The Senators have players on their roster that are capable of producing points like Kastelic is with the Bruins, but Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk are the only players that have more points than Kastelic this season. Every other player on the Senators has four points or less. The Senators will need to get more offensive production outside of Stutzle and Tkachuk to make trading away Kastelic not look worse.