Ottawa Senators goalie Linus Ullmark has spoken publicly for the first time since taking a leave of absence from the game, something that led to online rumours that the hockey club addressed directly.
Ullmark sat down for a one-on-one interview with TSN’s Claire Hanna to discuss why he took the leave of absence and how the rumours have been affecting him.
The full interview can be found here.
Ullmark’s leave of absence was announced on Dec. 28, 2025, following a 7-5 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ullmark tells Hanna he began to have serious feelings of anxiety prior to and during the game, which affected his performance.
“I was having panic attacks — not attacks, but, you know, seriously having anxiety problems and panic in between the first and second period and leading into the first period,” he said in the interview.
Ullmark says he called the player assistance program after the game and set up the plan to take his leave with the Senators organization.
“Linus has the full support of our organization during this time,” Steve Staios, general manager of the Ottawa Senators, said in a media release when the leave of absence was announced. “Out of respect to Linus, we will not be making any further comments.”
But a short time later, rumours began circulating online. Ullmark said he didn’t know about them at first.
“It took them less than 24 hours from my absence of leave to try to find reasons to why I’m gone. Saying that I’m a homewrecker, a person that no one likes in the team. And I can’t defend myself,” he told Hanna. “I didn’t know about this until days later.”
On Jan. 8, Staios released a statement across the team’s social media channels, directly addressing the rumours.
“Our organization was extremely disappointed to read the completely fabricated and false stories that are spreading around social media about our hockey club,” the statement said.
“Linus is away from our team for personal reasons, and he has the entire organization’s support. We asked that people respect his privacy, but clearly that request was not heard by the lowest forms of trolls and sick people who scour the internet. We are disgusted that outside forces are attempting to disrupt our hockey club. This statement will put an end to the ridiculous speculation that spread online.”
Teammates including Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle also addressed the situation in a heated media conference, with Tkachuk calling the rumours “pretty f-ing bullshit.”
Ullmark told Hanna the statement from Staios was “incredible” and said the interviews with his teammates were “heartwarming.”
He said he knew his teammates knew the rumours were not true but still worried the situation could affect their perception of him.
“It was really nice to see the camaraderie and the love that they had. And everybody said the same thing. And that really helped me to, not put it completely aside, but little by little — helping me in the way of dealing with it,” he said.
Ullmark said he received help from doctors, therapists and the Senators organization, along with Tampa Bay Lightning captain Victor Hedman, who is an ambassador for the mental wellness brand NOSOLO. Ullmark told Hanna that Hedman reached out and asked to talk. The Senators also brought in Ullmark’s goalie coach from his junior days, Maciej Szwoch, to spend some time with him.
Ultimately, Ullmark said he isn’t trying to achieve anything greater by going public. He just wants to “feel whole again.”
“Do I wish that me being open will help people? Yeah, at the end of the day, it would be a nice thing. But it wasn’t my plan. My plan was to fix me,” he said.
Ullmark was travelling with the team as it visited Columbus Tuesday night to face the Blue Jackets. Ullmark told Hanna he’s not ready to return to the ice just yet.
Goalie James Reimer made 21 saves in his first win with the Sens Tuesday as the team topped Columbus 4-1.
