Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images
Since the NHL returned to Canada’s capital on Oct. 8, 1992, the Ottawa Senators have always seemed to be on the brink of becoming a high-caliber hockey club.
A simple question separates the Sens from joining the big boys of the Atlantic Division in the top half of the league: When will the rebuild be over?
Dating back to the Sens’ debut 1992-93 season – where a record of 10 wins in 84 games was terrible enough to secure them the No. 1 draft pick which was the then-promising Alexandre Daigle – the culture in Ottawa has always been “next year will be our year.”
Spoiler alert: It hasn’t been the Sens’ year for a long time.
The last time we saw the Sens at the top of the heap was during the golden years of Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza. Led by an ultra-talented top line from around 2003 to 2013, the Sens were consistently competitive and regularly made the playoffs.
This all culminated in 2007 with Ottawa’s first and only appearance in the Stanley Cup finals. The Senators knocked off Pittsburgh, New Jersey and Buffalo in the first three rounds of the post-season, but they were no match for Anaheim’s impressive depth in the Cup final.
So how can the Sens climb back to the top after such a long-lasting fall from grace?
Ottawa has the third-worst playoff drought in the NHL, failing to make the playoffs for seven consecutive years. The Senators were supposed to make the transition into playoff contenders last season, but issues across the board caused the team to plunge to 26th overall in the final standings. Losing Alex DeBrincat for pennies on the dollar, Tim Stutzle failing to meet expectations and sloppy goaltending all contributed to the Sens’ early summer last year.
Leading up to the 2024-25 season, Sens fans were tired. Tired of losing with a talented roster, yes, but more tired of the doomed-from-the-start culture in Ottawa. The Senators needed a superstar to rally around when they win and a refreshingly down-to-earth optimist when they lose.
Enter Linus Ullmark.
This stylish, mustache-toting, goalie-hugging, all-around nice guy is the light at the end of Ottawa’s tunnel. Ullmark has a Vezina Trophy and one of the best all-time save percentages under his fashionable belt – ninth overall in all-time career save percentage – but those aren’t the only reasons why Ottawa should be happy to have him.
Ullmark’s antics prove how important it is to have players who are fun to watch both on and off the ice. It’s hard to cheer for a player that treats the NHL like a 9-to-5 job, and Ullmark has remade the mold of what a hockey player should be.
You want Ullmark on your team because he’s elite between the pipes, but fans resonate much more with him because he allows his personality to shine through his play. From the funky wide-brimmed hats he wears on game days to his cool-as-ice goalie mask, fans can feel more relaxed with Ullmark guarding the net because they know him better than “just some guy.”
For Ullmark and the Sens, this is already paying off, even though the early stages of Ullmark’s first season in Ottawa haven’t gone as well as everyone hoped. He’s 2-3-0 in his five starts, and missed the first few games of the season due to a lower-body injury. Per moneypuck.com, Ullmark is ranked 53rd out of 70 goalies in goals saved above expected, sitting at a concerning minus-2.1.
Despite all this, Sens fans are still rallying behind Ullmark, because of his character off the ice.
On the road against Vegas on Oct. 26, the Sens were victims of a classic Golden Knights comeback. After dominating the game for over 56 minutes, the Senators had a 4-3 lead that quickly turned into a 6-4 loss after three straight Vegas goals.
In his true selfless fashion, Ullmark took responsibility for the loss, saying his performance was “way too sloppy to be in this league.”
“If (Ottawa) had a capable goalie in there today, they would have won 4-3,” he continued.
When Ullmark chokes in net, he follows with an MVP-worthy performance outside the rink.
The day before the Sens’ first regular-season game, Ottawa locked up Ullmark with a four-year, $33-million contract extension. In just a couple of short weeks, this goalie has given Ottawa more hope than they’ve had in a long time, so there is no telling what he might do over the duration of his contract.
Ullmark is a stellar goalie who plays his best when he has help in front of him. Before his record-setting years in Boston, Ullmark was minding the net in Buffalo for six seasons. The Sabres were another struggling team during Ullmark’s time with them – Buffalo has the longest active playoff drought at 13 years and counting – and Ullmark struggled to maintain more than a .500 winning percentage with the team.
During his career-high seasons as a Bruin, Ullmark had big men on the blueline and an array of two-way forwards to give him plenty of support. If the Senators’ defense corps goes into a slump, Ullmark will be hung out to dry — just as he was in Buffalo.
If Ottawa wants Ullmark to work out, Ottawa will have to work for Ullmark, but if he gets the help he needs, there’s no reason Ullmark can’t be a crucial piece in Ottawa’s return to the post-season.
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