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Linus Ullmark was noticeable by his absence again Tuesday, but he’s on the road to recovery.
The Ottawa Senators’ biggest off-season acquisition wasn’t on the ice with either group before the club hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs in the pre-season home opener Tuesday night at the Canadian Tire Centre.
By all accounts, whatever Ullmark is dealing with isn’t that serious and it just didn’t make sense to have him with the group the past few days.
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“He’s fine,” coach Travis Green said before facing the Leafs. “He’s going to be fine we’re just being cautious. He skated on his own.”
Acquired from the Boston Bruins, Ullmark hasn’t skated with his teammates since Friday and didn’t accompany the Senators to Gatineau for the intra-squad Saturday at the Centre Slush Puppie either.
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That may not be the case much longer.
“I think he’s going to join the group (Wednesday),” Green added.
So, did Ullmark tweak something or did something happen?
“Yeah,” Green said with a smile.
At least Green was nice about being tight-lipped.
Ullmark’s absence meant Anton Forsberg made the start against the Leafs with Belleville’s Mads Sogaard dressed as the backup.
Green told reporters Sunday that Ullmark had skated on his own that morning
Before we reach for the panic button, which can often happen if you’re one of those people (present company included) that spends any amount of time on social media, we need to remember it’s still the pre-season and the season opener isn’t until Oct. 10 against the Florida Panthers.
The reality is there’s still lots of time for Ullmark and the Senators to get ready: Sixteen days and five more exhibition games to be exact, between now and when the games will count for real.
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Missing a few games in a training camp isn’t really that big of a deal, but it gets magnified when you’re viewed as the most important piece the Senators brought in to lead them to the playoffs for the first time in 2017.
The injury to Ullmark is magnified by the fact the Senators also are without prospect goaltender Leevi Merilainen. He was injured before the club left for the rookie tourney in Buffalo and the club was forced to bring in veteran goalie Dustin Tokarski on a professional tryout.
Merilainen, who has a groin ailment, hasn’t skated with the group either.
We all know that goaltending was the Achilles heel of this team the past four seasons and, though the Senators need to be better defensively, they also need to get the saves at key times in the game.
Steve Staios, the club’s president of hockey operations and general manager, added some good pieces to this team in the off-season, including David Perron, Michael Amadio, Nick Cousins, Noah Gregor and Nick Jensen.
But Ullmark is the one that has to make the biggest impact for the Senators. This club hasn’t had a steady netminder since the organization decided not to renew Craig Anderson’s contract at the abrupt end of the 2019-20 campaign because of COVID-19.
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The net has been a revolving door for the Senators since.
The Senators have used 12 different goalies over the past three seasons, including failed attempts to bring former Stanley Cup champion Matt Murray, veteran netminder Cam Talbot and Joonas Korpisalo was a bust after being signed as an unrestricted free agent last July 1.
That’s why there’s so much concern in this market surrounding Ullmark’s health and, if he skates out with the group Wednesday, then there will be a huge sign of relief.
Nothing has been the least bit normal about the goaltender position for the Senators and the franchise-record use of seven netminders because of injuries during the 2022-23 campaign is still fresh in everyone’s mind.
If the Senators are going to make the playoffs next spring, a lot of their success is dependent upon Ullmark playing a bulk of the games. Observers have suggested he needs to play somewhere in the 55-60-game range.
Two years removed from winning a Vezina Trophy with the Bruins, Ullmark has spent enough time with his teammates in the past month that he has gotten to know them, so missing a few days of camp isn’t that big an issue.
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He arrived in Ottawa nearly a month before camp officially got under way and has settled nicely into the city after buying a home.
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Of course, he’s not the only injury concern.
Centre Josh Norris, who had the third shoulder surgery of his career last March and is being counted on to play a key role, has been a full participant in practice, but didn’t take part in either of the club’s two intra-squad games and hasn’t played in either exhibition games.
But Green said the plan is to play Norris in the pre-season before the puck is dropped for real.
“He’s feel good,” Green said. “Like I said in Gatineau, we have a plan in place and we’re going to err on the side of caution. But he’s feeling good about himself. I’ll say the same thing I said the other day, you’re going to see him in a game sooner or later here.”
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