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Linus Ullmark was supposed to be the answer for the Ottawa Senators in the franchise's quest to return to the postseason for the first time since 2016-17 — and for a while, he was. The Swedish netminder was nearly unbeatable after a slow start in Canada's capital, posting an 8-0-1 record in his last nine games, along with a sparkling 1.48 goals-against average and .952 save percentage.
But the team's top goaltender is sidelined indefinitely with an upper-body injury he suffered on December 22 against the Edmonton Oilers — and there's no timetable for the veteran's return, head coach Travis Green confirmed.
With a plethora of unworthy netminders behind Ullmark in the depth chart, including Anton Forsberg (.843 SV% since November 25) and rookie Leevi Merilainen (.884 SV%), general manager Steve Staios is exploring potential trade options to address the situation, the Ottawa Citizen's Bruce Garrioch reported earlier this week.
“A check with a league executive and a league insider indicated that the market isn’t great for netminders. The names floated to Postmedia included Anaheim’s John Gibson, Montreal’s Cayden Primeau and Buffalo’s James Reimer,” Garrioch wrote on Sunday. “An executive said that the Wings would be willing to move Ville Husso but he carries a $4.75-million cap hit and Detroit isn’t in any mood to help the Senators with both teams battling for the same playoff spot.”
The league executive told Garrioch: “There’s not a lot out there. If you’re a team heading into the second half of the season, and you’re battling for a playoff spot, you’re going to want to have three goalies.”
The Senators have no shortage of options between the pipes, but none are even close to the caliber of Ullmark when he's at his best. The 31-year-old won the Vezina Trophy in 2022-23 and was starting to round into that elite form again.
Without him, Ottawa's playoff hopes have already taken a huge hit.
Senators fading without Linus Ullmark
The Senators rolled through December, posting an excellent 9-3 record between December 5-29. That included a six-game winning streak that saw the club vault into the top wildcard berth in the Eastern Conference.
Ullmark was between the pipes for all but two of those victories, and the wins have dried up without him. Ottawa has lost two games in a row and four of five, with each of Forsberg, Merilainen and Mads Sogaard all in net for at least one loss.
Now just above .500 at 19-17-2, the Sens have fallen out of a wildcard spot, and are a point back of the Pittsburgh Penguins and surging Montreal Canadiens.
Without a reliable starting goaltender, it wouldn't be at all surprising if this roster continued tumbling down league standings. It'll be interesting to see if Staios and the Sens front office ends up making a move to try and right the ship until Ullmark is ready to return.
Ottawa is back in action on Tuesday night, travelling to Detroit to play a Red Wings team that has won four games in a row. Puck drops at Little Caesars Arena at 7:00 p.m. ET.
