Linus Ullmark has been granted a leave of absence.
The Ottawa Senators announced Sunday that the club’s top goaltender will be away from the club for an indefinite period of time for undisclosed personal reasons.
Ullmark wasn’t on the ice with the rest of his teammates for a noon skate at the Canadian Tire Centre, and Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, confirmed after the skate that Ullmark will be away from the club.
There is no timetable for Ullmark’s return, and from what the Ottawa Citizen has been told the Senators’ management has no idea when he will be back.
“Linus has the full support of our organization during this time,” said Staios. “Out of respect to Linus, we will not be making any further comments.”
The club said in its short statement that Ullmark is “taking a leave of absence from the team for personal reasons.” Staios made only a brief appearance at practice on Sunday and was seen heading through the stands to his office.
The announcement came less than 24 hours after Ullmark was pulled after allowing four goals on 14 shots in a 7-5 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night in the club’s first game back after the National Hockey League’s holiday break.
Clearly, his mind wasn’t in the game and you could tell just by watching him. This has been a difficult season for Ullmark. He has started 28 of the club’s 37 games, and has posted a 2.95 goals-against average and an .881 save percentage.
He’s in his second season with the Senators after being dealt to Ottawa before the start of the 2024-25 campaign. The news also comes only three days before countries that are headed to the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy have to announce their final rosters.
His absence means that backup Leevi Merilainen will have to carry the load for the foreseeable future. In 10 appearances this season, he is ranked No. 56 among goalies in the NHL with a 4-6-0 record, a 3.43 GAA and an .874 save percentage.
Merilainen will make the start against the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Canadian Tire Centre on Monday night as the Senators open a four-game homestand. The club will have to recall either Mads Sogaard or Hunter Shepard from its American Hockey League affiliate in Belleville on Monday.
Sogaard is on a one-way contract that’s paying him $775,000 U.S. this season. The club has the cap space to recall a goalie for as long as Ullmark is absent from the club.
Last year at this time, Merilainen was called up from Belleville to carry the ball for the Senators after UIlmark suffered a back injury on Dec. 23 that kept him out of action for six weeks.
Merilainen posted an 8-3-1 record in 12 games in Ullmark’s absence with a .925 save percentage and a 1.99 GAA. If Merilainen can find that groove again, then that would help the Senators immensely.
Some help is on the way for the Senators.
Centre Shane Pinto and defenceman Tyler Kleven were both full participants in the skate, and the expectation is they’ll return against the Jackets. Xavier Bourgault and Dennis Gilbert were sent to Belleville on Sunday night.
“Both are close to playing,” coach Travis Green said after the club’s 25-minute practice. “Both are possibilities for tomorrow. We’ll see. I’ll talk to the medical group later today and tomorrow morning.”
The club is winless in two games and didn’t play a full 60 minutes against the Leafs.
Getting Pinto and Kleven back will enhance the club’s depth.
The Senators will reach the midpoint of the season on Jan. 5 against the Detroit Red Wings at home. It’s only 39 days until the NHL’s roster freeze goes into effect, with the break for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan/Cortina, Italy, so the clock is ticking to make changes.
That’s why the answers will likely have to come from within. The Senators woke up on Sunday only one point out of the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference with a lot of hockey left to be played.
No matter what the lineup looks like against the Jackets, the Senators have got to be better than they were in Toronto. That just wasn’t good enough in any way, shape or form.
“Of course we didn’t like the result,” captain Brady Tkachuk said. “We showed a lot of good things in the third period, but there are mistakes we made that are easily fixable. You look at that as a good thing and a sign that it’s just simple things that sometimes get overlooked.
“It’s the simple things that we need to fix, and we know that we’re very capable of it. It’s going to get addressed, and we’ll be better because of it.”
Tim Stutzle and Jake Sanderson weren’t on the ice because they were given maintenance days, but Green noted they should be available.
Pinto was one of the club’s most consistent players before he suffered a lower-body injury on Dec. 4 against the New York Rangers after a hit from Mika Zibanejad. Pinto has missed 10 games as a result of the ailment, and getting him back will help balance the club’s four lines.
Pinto skated between David Perron and Fabian Zetterlund on Sunday, the spot where Stutzle finished the game against the Leafs. Tkachuk was with Dylan Cozens and Drake Batherson after they had a solid third period to help the club close the gap.
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