03:54 PM: Ullmark has suffered a lower-body strain and is set to miss one to two weeks, Green told the media today. (via Garrioch)
11:30 AM: An update on Ullmark didn’t take long to find, as the goaltender has been placed on injured reserve, per Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. Johansson has been recalled from AHL Belleville, the team announced. The Senators will move forward on their hot start with the pair of off-season additions of him and Ersson, as they’ll miss Ullmark for at least a week, hoping for a return by early November.
8:15 AM: It was an exciting time for the Ottawa faithful to pick up a 5-1 win over Florida on home ice last night. Somewhat pushed aside with all the Brady Tkachuk noise was that Linus Ullmark had to be helped off the ice and exited early into the third period. Head coach Travis Green says it is a lower-body injury and he’ll be further evaluated today, Garrioch reported.
The netminder was on the final stretch of what had been a solid night, surrendering one goal on 18 shots, coming from the stick of public enemy #1, no less. He dropped to make a routine pad save but immediately appeared shaken up. Samuel Ersson held down the remaining 16:25 of the night only having to face one shot on net.
Although speculation, it’s fair to assume there was some sort of tweak in the groin or hamstring area. Just over two weeks ago, Ullmark was pulled out of caution with an undisclosed injury as he was bumped by JJ Peterka with an impact concentrated in the same lower-body area.
Playing at an elite Vezina-winning level in Boston, Ullmark earned a four-year contract in Ottawa worth $8.25MM per season. There was real regression practically from day one, dealing with a back injury not long into his tenure, not to mention his extended absence last year which was for personal reasons as opposed to a specific injury. For a player who it feels like has missed a lot of time as a Senator, Ullmark has averaged 46 games from his past two seasons. Not so much for a goalie at his AAV, it’s still right on track with his workload from the shiny days in Boston sharing the crease with Jeremy Swayman.
Dealing with plenty of adversity, what’s most frustrating about the situation is that so far this season Ullmark has turned the page and looks like his old self. Humming along with seven wins out of his first eight games, with a .945 SV% and the second highest goals saved above expected in the entire league (8.4) per Moneypuck, much of the Senators early success at 7-3-0 can be attributed to the 33-year-old.
If Ullmark has to miss any extended period, facing the possibility of yet again coming short of breaking the 50-game mark for the first time, the Senators are pretty shaky behind him. Ersson dropped both of his starts, allowing 11 goals in two games coming from Detroit and St. Louis. The former Flyer showed promise three years ago, somewhat hard to believe his 51 appearances in 2023-24 were more than anything Ullmark has gotten in a single season yet at the NHL level. His stats declined ever since, being dealt to the Maple Leafs as a spare part, who were not going to extend an offer to the RFA. They managed to snag a 2027 fifth-rounder for the goalie, flipping him to Ottawa.
Losing Leevi Merilainen from the wire to the Canucks, the player who stepped up during Ullmark’s back issues two years ago but unable to replicate it last season, it’s Jonas Johansson as their #3. Acquired for future considerations to replace Merilainen as depth behind Ersson, the former Tampa Bay backup is currently sitting in the AHL where so far the 105-game NHL veteran has a .912 SV% and three wins. Making the most of playing at a level down, having hardly appeared in the AHL over the past seven years, Johansson had a winning record in Tampa Bay but it was largely due to the team’s success in front of him. At this point he is at best a fringe NHL backup.
All that being said, nobody expects Ottawa to offer too much of an investment behind their big ticket #1 in Ullmark, but it’s far from a situation they’d be comfortable with for any extended time. Hoping he’ll avoid any injured reserve stint, the club has a busy next few days with hardly any time to rest. Hosting San Jose tonight, a game which likely would be handed to Ersson either way, after that they’ll continue the home stretch Saturday as the Rangers come into town. Already missing Thomas Chabot and William Eklund to injury, Ullmark updates will be watched closely in the coming hours. If he’s not on the roster later tonight it looks like another blow after an impressive start for the Sens this month.