For a moment, cast away team allegiances, previous franchise bias, or any preconceived hate toward teams that made into the Stanley Cup Playoffs over others: the past two weeks of NHL action have been nothing short of captivating. Hats off to the best team in the NHL at both ends of the ice this year in the Florida Panthers, as they took home the first Cup in the franchise's 30-year history by defeating the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 on Monday night in Sunrise. It feels like a lot longer ago than that when American goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck was the first player to patrol Florida's crease while rocking one the best-looking goalie buckets in the history of masks back in their inaugural 1993 season.

Vanbiesbrouck's NHL and relevant fantasy hockey days are long gone, but there have been a number of extremely valuable fantasy netminder assets in the news in recent days, and when a Vezina winner gets moved within his own division only a season removed from being the best backstop in the league it needs to be discussed. The gauntlet of goalie news unfolds below in the latest edition of Eastern Edge.

Sens Make Out Like Bandits, Get Their Man In Ullmark

After what felt like weeks of the Ottawa Senators being linked to any starting goaltender with a pulse, first-year general manager Steve Staois has his new number one man in the blue paint with the addition of Linus Ullmark. To get it done all it cost the Sens was much-maligned goaltender Joonas Korpisalo and 25 percent of his salary, fourth-line grinder Mark Kastelic, and the 25th overall selection in the upcoming 2024 NHL Draft. Sprinkle in the fact that Ullmark stays in the Atlantic Division to wreak direct havoc on his former club for multiple potential meetings next season and Ottawa comes out of this one with a trade grade of nothing short of "A". If Staois is able to continue his deft decision-making and get Ullmark to ink an extension with the Sens, he's currently got one year left on his deal, we definitely adding a "+" to that letter above.

In terms of fantasy value, Ullmark is no longer fighting Jeremy Swayman for ice time in Boston and is assuredly going to be the clearcut number one netminder for an Ottawa team that has far too many weapons to be as bad as it was last season. Even though the Sens have significant defensive issues to rectify, Ullmark is only a year removed from leading the league in wins (40), goals-against average (1.89), and save percentage (.938), so he will be a difference-maker for an Ottawa club on the come up who just got much better on the backend. Ullmark should be one of the first 15 goalies off fantasy draft boards come September.

Bruins Hand Forced + Swayman's Fantasy Future

As much as we all love the hugs and budding bromance from Swayman and Ullmark over the past three seasons, the writing has been on the wall for a move of this nature for at least six months. Solidifying his claim to the crease during the playoffs, Swayman carried over a strong regular-season showing by registering a postseason-best .938 SV% while proving to Bruins' brass that he's the goalie deserving of a big payday. With Swayman's sensational play combined with his pending restricted free agency tag and Boston's need to address their forward depth, this deal felt necessary to precipitate more moves that are sure to come from Don Sweeny over the coming weeks. Swayman has basically been lights out since entering the NHL at the end of the 2021 season while putting up stellar numbers to the tune of a 79-33-15 record, 2.34 GAA, .919 SV%, and 12 shutouts. With Ullmark now out of the way and a backup in Korpisalo who is zero threat to his time in the cage, Swayman's fantasy appeal is rising once again to the point where he's easily a top-10 fantasy option for the upcoming season.

Markström Trade Solidifies Dangerous Devils

Speaking of which, perhaps the same could be argued for newly-minted Devils keeper Jacob Markstrom? Very similarly to both the Bruins and Senators, New Jersey landing a number one name between the pipes has been in the rumour mill for over a year. General manager Tom Fitzgerald should feel much more confident about his tandem heading into this season with Markström and veteran Jake Allen than he did a year ago with the rag-tag duo of Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid. There's no denying the fantasy hockey appeal and offensive firepower the Devils flaunt up front with young studs Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, Dawson Mercer, and Jesper Bratt, and now with Markström anchoring a backend that features Luke Hughes, Simon Nemec, and a returning Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey is primed for takeoff. Make sure you get a piece of their fantasy fortune before all of the Devils' top options get snapped up.