Senators’ Linus Ullmark taking leave of absence for personal reasons

The Ottawa Senators will be without Linus Ullmark for the immediate future after announcing Sunday that the veteran goaltender will be taking a leave of absence from the team for personal reasons.

Ullmark, 32, has appeared in 28 games with the Senators to begin the 2025-26 season, posting a 14-8-5 record, an .881 save percentage, and one shutout. The Lugnvik, Sweden product made his last appearance in Ottawa’s 7-5 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, being pulled after allowing four goals on 14 shots.

“Linus has the full support of our organization during this time,” Senators general manager Steve Staios said in a statement released on Sunday afternoon. “Out of respect to Linus, we will not be making any further comments.”

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8:06 PM · Dec 28, 2025

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Ullmark is in his second season with the Senators since being acquired from the Boston Bruins in June 2024 in exchange for Joonas Korpisalo, Mark Kastelic, and a 2024 first-round pick. The Senators subsequently signed Ullmark to a four-year contract extension carrying an $8.25 million cap hit.

A sixth-round pick (No. 163 overall) of the Buffalo Sabres in the 2012 NHL Draft, Ullmark made his debut with the club in the 2015-16 season. The 6’4″ netminder spent parts of six seasons with the Sabres to begin his NHL career before signing with the Bruins as an unrestricted free agent in 2021.

Ullmark enjoyed considerable success over his three seasons in Boston, posting a save percentage of .915 or higher each year and winning both the Vezina Trophy and William M. Jennings Trophy in recognition of his excellent performance in 2022-23. However, the Bruins only won one playoff series over his three campaigns with the club, and the emergence of Jeremy Swayman led them to send Ullmark to Ottawa ahead of the 2024 NHL Draft.

In 44 games with the Senators in the 2024-25 season, Ullmark posted a 25-14-3 record with four shutouts and a .910 save percentage, helping the club clinch its first playoff berth since 2017. He also represented Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off, and also appeared in six playoff contests with the Senators, going 2-4 with an .880.

Through 319 career games with the Sabres, Bruins, and Senators, Ullmark has compiled a 177-95-31 record to go along with 13 shutouts and a .915 save percentage. He’s gone 5-10 with an .885 in 15 playoff contests with Ottawa and Buffalo.