BOSTON — Linus Ullmark was emotional as he stood in front of his locker after the Bruins 5-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday.
Not as emotional as he was on Friday when the trade deadline came and went and he was still a Bruin. Or as emotional as he’d been a half hour before when the TD Garden crowd gave him an ovation both because he’d just been terrific in the win and because he was sticking around.
But the usually stoic Swedish goalie was still overflowing. Happy. Relieved. Proud. And probably a little exhausted.
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After spending the previous two hours reminding anyone watching that he is still one of the best humans on the planet at stopping pucks, Ullmark did something many athletes aren’t willing to do — admitted he was vulnerable.
Ullmark spent the better part of the last two weeks as an unwitting part of the NHL’s trade deadline rumor mill. Elite goaltending was one of the few tradeable assets the Bruins had a surplus of fueling the speculation that the Bruins might move Ullmark to get better elsewhere. They reportedly tried. Multiple stories surfaced that Ullmark used his 16-team no-trade list to nix a move elsewhere. While Bruins general manager Don Sweeney didn’t confirm them, he didn’t deny them either.
Ullmark deftly avoided verifying the report too. But he said he was glad to still be a Bruin and admitted that it’s been a rough couple of weeks and was glad the deadline was behind him.
“Thank God, yes,” he said. “It’s tough. You try to act tough beforehand. You don’t want to show anything. You don’t want to show any emotions. It is tough on players. This is the first time I had to go through being rumored about. I’ve always felt safe. But when it starts picking up more, more, more you hear those outside noises. It takes a toll. There’s an emotional part and you start thinking about your family and there’s all these questions that you don’t have any answers to. So yes. I’m very happy that it’s over with and I’m very glad and happy to be here.”
He said Charlie McAvoy made it a point to connect with him on Friday.
“C-Mac reached out to me as well with a very thought-out text that hit home,” Ullmark said. “It just shows what kind of people there are in this team. I was very happy and emotional after I read it.”
Freed of any concerns about relocation, Ullmark was terrific on Saturday. He made 38 saves, the most he’s had in any game this season. Fourteen of those stops came in the first period when the game was scoreless and 14 more came in the third period to close it out. If whichever general manager had tried to acquire him, watched Saturday’s nationally televised game, they had to be frustrated. He looked every bit like a No. 1 goalie.
Bruins coach Jim Montgomery was glad to still have him.
“He was our best player tonight. It wasn’t close. He was really good,” Montgomery said then added with his voice getting louder. “Glad he’s still a Bruin!”
After Thursday’s win over Toronto, Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman appeared to extend their traditional post-victory goalie hug a little longer than usual, knowing it could be their last one if Ullmark was traded the next day. It lasted even longer on Saturday because both goalies knew the tradition would continue. He got emotional again when the crowd gave him a warm ovation when he was announced as the game’s No. 1 star.
“Some games you’re going to keep with you longer in the memory bank and pull it out from time to time. I got emotional as well when Sway said all these nice words to me (after the game). I would have done the same for him if he was in my shoes. It’s tough to talk about. But I’m just so gosh darn happy,” he said. “I’m just very happy to be here. This is the team I want to be in. I’m just very fortunate to be part of this group. Ever since Day 1, I’ve loved it here. I’m very happy with where I am right now.”
Follow MassLive sports columnist Matt Vautour on Twitter at @MattVautour424.
