Linus Ullmark showed up to Senators training camp looking like a goalie who has turned a corner.
After a rough stretch last season that included a month-long leave of absence to address his mental health, Ottawa’s starter sounded upbeat on Friday and, just as importantly, looked lighter and more relaxed on day two of camp. For a Senators team trying to build real hope around its crease, that matters.
“Everybody’s very eager, very energetic,” Ullmark said. “Just like every single camp I’ve been to, it’s the same thing. Everybody comes out hot, blazing and excited about what’s to come.”
That energy was missing at times last season. Before his leave on Dec.
27, Ullmark had gone 14-8-5 with a 2.95 goals-against average and an .881 save percentage. The record was solid enough, but there were too many nights when Ottawa needed a save and didn’t get one.
Then came the reset. After returning at the end of January, Ullmark made only two starts before the NHL paused for the Olympics, giving him two long breaks in the middle of the year. From the end of that Olympic break through the end of the regular season, he was much sharper: 12-4-3 with a 2.51 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage in 19 starts.
He was even better in the playoffs. Ottawa was swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes and scored just five goals in four games, but Ullmark still gave them a chance. He stopped 124 of 133 shots, finishing with a .932 save percentage and a 2.03 goals-against average.
Put it all together, and his final 23 regular-season and playoff appearances after the Olympic break produced a .908 save percentage and a 2.42 goals-against average. That was much closer to the version of Ullmark GM Steve Staios believed he was getting when he acquired him from Boston in 2024.
Even with the leave, Ullmark still made 49 regular-season starts. That number has raised eyebrows before, since he has never appeared in more than 50 games in an NHL season.
But the league has changed. Utah’s Karel Vejmelka was the only goalie to reach 60 appearances last season, and most of the workhorse starters finished in the 50s.
Ullmark’s own resume points in the same direction. When he won the Vezina Trophy with Boston three years ago, he played exactly 49 games and posted a 40-6-1 record, a 1.89 goals-against average, and a .938 save percentage.
So the Senators do not need him to chase 60 starts. They need him available, and they need him playing at a high level.
That puts real weight on the backup spot, because Ullmark’s No. 2 is going to have to handle 30-35 games. Ottawa is banking on Samuel Ersson for that role after signing him to a two-year deal worth $2.2 million per season.
Ersson, 26, is younger than James Reimer, who handled the position last year but was not re-signed. On paper, though, the numbers don’t scream upgrade.
Ersson went 14-11-5 with a 3.12 goals-against average and an .870 save percentage in 33 games for Philadelphia. Reimer finished 7-4-2 with a 2.42 goals-against average and an .886 save percentage in 14 appearances for Ottawa.
Still, there’s confidence inside the organization that Ersson’s game can translate better in a new setting. Ullmark already had a chance to get to know him when they played for Sweden together at the 4 Nations Face-Off last year.
“He made a good impression on me at that point,” Ullmark said. “Once everything was said and done, and he was going to be a part of this organization, I was very happy. It’s always fun to have a fellow Swede join the ranks, but also for me, as a Swedish goaltender, it’s nice to have that conversation with him on a daily basis.
“Hopefully, I can show the way for him as well, being an older guy, which I feel like I’m more comfortable in now than I used to be.”
Leevi Meriläinen is still in the mix too after signing a one-year, one-way contract worth $1.1 million. The 23-year-old went 8-10-1 with a 3.51 goals-against average and an .860 save percentage in 20 NHL appearances last season.
For Ottawa, the real question is simple: can the goalie who found his game after the Olympic break and into the playoffs carry that form into this season? Ullmark sounded confident that the summer, even if it flew by with family duties, travel and prep, left him in a good place.
“It felt like I said goodbye to the people here in June,” he said. “And then, bam, the next time I woke up, I was back here in Ottawa. So that was both very nice, but also a little bit bittersweet in a way that I didn’t get to enjoy it as much at home as I would like to.”
The summer may have passed quickly, but the feeling around Ullmark is different now. He looks ready for a fresh start, and for a fan base that has been waiting for top-end goaltending, that’s no small thing.
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