The Ottawa Senators announced Sunday, Dec. 28 that goaltender Linus Ullmark is taking a leave of absence from the team for personal reasons.
‘Out of respect to Linus, we will not be making any further comments,’ Staios added.
Ullmark has been having one of the worst seasons of his career, statistically. In 28 starts this season, he’s registered a 2.95 goals-against average and a .881 save percentage. With that, the Swedish netminder has a 14-8-5 record and one shutout on the campaign.
His .881 SP is the lowest of his 11-year career, as he has never posted lower than .905 percent.
The 32-year-old is coming off a rough performance against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday in a 5-2 defeat.
Ullmark allowed four goals on 14 shots and was pulled during the second period, making way for 23-year-old Leevi Merilainen. Ullmark ended the night with a .714 SP.
However, before the Christmas break, Ullmark was in great form. Leading up to the break, the former Vezina Trophy winner had won four of his five starts, with the one loss coming in overtime.
In that span, he put up a 1.74 GAA and a .926 SP. Those numbers kept up with some of the best goalies in the NHL for a small stretch. Furthermore, Ullmark posted his first shutout of the season in that range of games against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Last season, the Senators’ starting goaltender registered a 25-14-3 record, putting up a 2.72 GAA and a .910 SP. Among netminders who played at least 25 games last season, he was tied for ninth in save percentage alongside Washington Capitals’ Logan Thompson and Calgary Flames’ Dustin Wolf.
With Ullmark’s indefinite absence, Merilainen will take over in the crease. The rookie has made 10 appearances with Ottawa, nine of which were starts. His season averages post a 3.43 GAA and a .874 SP.
Goalies Mads Sogaard and Hunter Shepard have been sharing the net in the AHL for the Belleville Senators. Neither has made an NHL appearance this season, but Sogaard has more experience in ‘The Show’ between the two, playing 29 career games.
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