What Linus Ullmark’s leave of absence means for Senators

On Sunday, the Senators announced that their starting goaltender had been granted a leave of absence from the team for personal reasons.

“We’ll always be there for him. And whatever he’s going through, he knows that we’re always there, and he’s such a big part of our team on the ice and off the ice,” captain Brady Tkachuk said on Monday.

It’s still very fresh, and the Senators organization would comment further, but naturally, empathy was the mood from Ullmark’s teammates at practice on Monday.

“We’re all humans. It sucks to see one of your good friends being away from the game,” said veteran defenceman Thomas Chabot.

While the timeline may be unclear, Ullmark’s absence will present a challenge for the Senators. And it’s a complex one, because the ugly truth is the Senators had a big problem in net even before Ullmark’s leave of absence.

Until Ullmark returns, the Senators’ crease will be manned by 23-year-old Leevi Merilainen, who has played 24 career NHL games. In a surprising move, the Senators recalled career AHLer Hunter Shepard over prospect Mads Sogaard to back up Merilainen.

The situation exposes the organization’s lack of depth between the pipes. Sogaard has 29 career games in the NHL. Shepard has just five, although he is a two-time Calder Cup champion with a .905 save percentage on a struggling Belleville Senators team this season.

“I thought, Shepard is having a good year, so we (decided to) bring him up now. That can change (as) Sogaard got a shoutout last night (in Belleville),” said Senators coach Travis Green.

The Senators need to hope that somebody can go on one of those nerveless streaks that inexperienced netminders sometimes enjoy. In Ottawa, you’re always an Andrew “Hamburglar” Hammond run away from turning your season around. Eleven years on, they might need that again.

If Ullmark is gone for more than a few games, there will be pressure on general manager Steve Staios to add an experienced netminder.

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If the Senators try to add, they will find a very thin market, with almost every team in the NHL still credibly fighting for a playoff spot. It’s a seller’s market.

It means Ottawa might have to take a chance — perhaps on Laurent Brossoit, who’s returning after a year away due to injury but was effective last time he played, or Devon Levi, a former highly touted prospect who has struggled in Buffalo’s goalie carousel.

It’s not as though the Senators were spoiled for choice even before Ullmark’s leave. Statistically, Ullmark has been the worst goaltender in the league this season, according to Moneypuck.com, with minus-11.5 goals saved above expected, including a terrible performance on Saturday that sunk the Senators against the rival Maple Leafs.

The team is last in the league in team save percentage — a statistic that looks even worse when you consider that the Senators are fourth in expected goals allowed, according to Natural Stat Trick. The Senators haven’t been leaving their goalies out to dry. Quite the opposite.

The last time a team made the playoffs with a league-worst save percentage was the 2018-19 San Jose Sharks.

It would be an impressive feat for the Senators to replicate. 

Regardless, the team might even benefit from a shake-up between the pipes.

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It seems unlikely the Senators will thrive while relying on two netminders in Merilainen and Shepard who have fewer than 30 games combined of NHL experience. But goaltending is voodoo.

Ottawa cannot afford to waste a season of contention with Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle and Jake Sanderson in their primes due to a malaise in net.

Last season, the Senators were in a similar predicament with Ullmark and Anton Forsberg hurt in January. There’s a sturdy argument to be made that without Merilainen last season, who went 6-2-1 with a .933 save percentage and three shutouts in nine games in January 2025, the Senators wouldn’t have made the playoffs.

The Senators may be hoping to “leevitate” again with help from their inexperienced backup.

The captain said he believes in Merilainen.

“He doesn’t say much, but he’s a stone-cold killer,” said Tkachuk. “Nothing’s too high, nothing’s too low. It feels like, after some of the wins that he has, it’s almost like he doesn’t care. But, obviously, he does care.”

Maybe consistent playing time will translate into results for Merilainen, who believes it breeds better performance.

“Oh, that makes a huge difference, for sure,” Merilainen told Sportsnet.ca about how playing consistently impacts his confidence and level of play.

Could a consistent run of play change Merilainen’s fortunes? Maybe.

This season, Merilainen has struggled as a rarely used second fiddle, posting a dreary .874 save percentage and minus-5.9 goals saved above expected while losing all four of his road starts. Becoming the full-time backup has been a new role for him, with the main adjustment being the lack of playing time. Earlier this season, it led to Merilainen getting sent down to Belleville to get starts while Ullmark drove the bus in Ottawa.

Paradoxically, both Ullmark and Merilainen have said the Senators’ ability to suppress shots makes it more difficult for their netminders to get in the zone. The Senators rank fourth in fewest shots allowed, at 25.19 per game.

“Guys are so smart now that they don’t take the easy shots or give you too many easy saves. Like, they’re always looking for a shot, or at least have a screen,” said Merilainen.

“I feel like there’s no easy saves anymore, and that makes it a lot harder for us to, first of all, stay ready and stay connected to the game, not standing around for 10-15 minutes doing nothing, and then, all of a sudden, a quick seam play or behind the net to the middle. It’s really hard, but yeah, you gotta find a way to stay ready for those.”

Could allowing more shots be the Senators’ way of securing more saves? Probably not, but an intriguing subplot for a team and city that has far too often become a goalie wasteland since the Craig Anderson era.

Ullmark’s unavailability due to personal reasons is an unfortunate development for him, and the Senators will hope he can return and find his usual form sooner than later. But a disruption at this position will force the team to see who else it can count on, or if it has to spring into action to improve organizational depth between the pipes.

Whether it’s a trade, internal improvement or the eventual return of Ullmark with a restoration of Vezina-calibre play, the Senators need saves. Without Ullmark, the pathway there just got significantly more complicated.