The Ottawa Senators are caught up in a storm of drama allegedly fabricated by an unfounded source on social media.
The mess began when the Senators announced on December 28 that number-one goaltender Linus Ullmark was taking a leave of absence from the team for personal reasons.
“Linus has the full support of our organization during this time,” general manager Steve Staios said in a statement at the time. “Out of respect to Linus, we will not be making any further comments.”
While an appropriate measure, the lack of information given about the reason for Ullmark’s absence led to a salacious rumor of widespread infidelity on the Senators roster that gained steam on social media. To further combat the spread of the rumor, Staios released a statement through the team, calling out “trolls” and “sick people” as the source of the gossip.
“Our organization was extremely disappointed to read the completely fabricated and false stories that are spreading around social media about our hockey club,” the statement reads. “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.”
[Editor’s note: As people who conduct their business on the internet, Staios actually gave the rumor more attention by addressing it in a phenomenon called the Streisand effect.]
Senators players got their first chance to address the drama after a morning skate before their game against the Florida Panthers on Saturday night. Captain Brady Tkachuk didn’t mince words when asked for comment.
“Not gonna lie, it’s pretty f***ing bulls***,” Tkachuk said. “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***ing bulls***. It’s embarrassing that it got to the point that it did. I can tell you for free I’m not happy about it one bit.”
Tkachuk continued, expressing his wholehearted support for Ullmark.
“Honestly, I really feel bad for Linus,” he said. “Nobody knows what he’s going through, but the fact that he has to even deal with this and even has to think about it. All we care about for him is getting what he needs. We’ve said from day one that he’s had our support, the whole organization’s support. Now that he has to deal with this, it’s f***ing mindblowing.”
Star forward Tim Stutzle echoed some of Tkachuk’s thoughts and support for their netminder.
“We love him in this room,” Stutzle said. “I texted him right after when he left the team for something completely different. Which we don’t even have to get into, it’s something mental health-related. Everybody knows that out there. I texted him. Just told him that we all support him for whatever he’s been going through.”
Ullmark, the 2023 Vezina Trophy winner, last played for the Senators on December 27 and was pulled in the second period after allowing four goals on 14 shots against the Toronto Maple Leafs. In his absence, Leevi Merilainen has taken the brunt of the workload in net with former Washington Capitals goalie Hunter Shepard serving as the team’s backup.
The Senators also addressed their sudden lack of depth in the crease by signing free-agent goalie James Reimer to an AHL professional tryout with the Belleville Senators.
Ullmark joined the Senators from the Boston Bruins via a June 2024 trade and signed a four-year, $33 million contract extension ($8.25M AAV) with Ottawa last October. Overall, the 32-year-old backstop is 14-8-5 this season with a 2.95 goals-against average, a .881 save percentage, and one shutout.
