Brady Tkachuk had no time for rumors regarding goalie Linus Ullmark’s leave of absence from the Ottawa Senators.
Ullmark has not played since Dec. 27, citing personal reasons, according to the team.
Various unsubstantiated rumors circulated on social media, but the Senators shot them down earlier this week. However, Tkachuk put an exclamation point on it on Saturday.
A furious Brady Tkachuk responds to the rumours surrounding his team. #gosensgo
Full Tkachuk media avail: https://t.co/Ohf7PjtcFU pic.twitter.com/RIGW37sbeJ
— Coming In Hot (@ComingInHotSens) January 10, 2026
“It’s pretty f*cking bullsh*t,” Tkachuk said to the media in the locker room. “I don’t think anybody’s pretty happy about a narrative being spread like that. I think it’s okay for people to critique our on ice performance, but when it gets into family, it’s pretty f*cking bullsh*t.
“Honestly, I really feel bad for Linus. Nobody knows what he’s going through. But the fact that he has to even deal with this and even have to think about it. All we care about for him is getting what he needs, and we’ve said from Day 1 that he has our support. Now that he has to deal with this, it’s f*cking mind-blowing.”
The Senators moved Ullmark to a non-roster spot on Thursday to make room on the roster for Lars Eller. Ottawa also signed longtime-NHL goaltender James Reimer to an AHL professional tryout on Thursday, with the presumption that he might be called up soon.
“Our organization was extremely disappointed to read the completely fabricated and false stories that are spreading around social media about our hockey club,” Steve Staios, the Senators’ president of hockey operations and general manager, said on Thursday. “Linus is away from our team for personal reasons, and he has the entire organization’s support. We asked that people respect his privacy, but clearly that request was not heard by the lowest forms of trolls and sick people who scour the internet.
“We are disgusted that outside forces are attempting to disrupt our hockey club. This statement will put an end to the ridiculous speculation that spread online.”