Ottawa Senators' Ullmark Takes Indefinite Leave

Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark is taking an indefinite leave of absence for personal reasons, the team announced Sunday.

The 32-year-old Swedish netminder, who has served as Ottawa's primary starter this season, received the news from general manager and president of hockey operations Steve Staios. In a brief statement, Staios expressed the organization's backing, saying, "Linus has the full support of our organization during this time." He added that the team would offer no additional details out of respect for Ullmark's privacy. It remains unclear when Ullmark might return to the lineup.

Ullmark's departure comes amid a challenging stretch for the Senators. In 28 appearances this season, he has posted a 14-8-5 record, along with a 2.95 goals-against average and an .881 save percentage, numbers that have fallen short of expectations. His most recent outing underscored those struggles: Ullmark was pulled in the second period of Saturday's 7-5 home loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs after surrendering four goals on just 14 shots.

Acquired by Ottawa in a June 2024 trade from the Boston Bruins in exchange for goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, forward Mark Kastelic and a...