Ullmark addresses leave of absence with TSN’s Hanna

For the first time since taking a leave of absence from the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 28, Linus Ullmark has spoken about his situation.

The 32-year-old goaltender sat down with TSN’s Claire Hanna in an interview that will appear in full later on Tuesday on TSN.ca and on TSN’s YouTube channel.

Ullmark addresses the circumstances of his leave, as well as his mental health in the conversation with Hanna.

Ullmark also spoke about the erroneous rumours that spread on social media in the wake of his departure.

“People wonder why hockey players, professional athletes, are not talking [publicly], why we’re not showing any sort of emotions, why mental health in men and in women [is] a stigma,” Ullmark tells Hanna in a clip released earlier Tuesday through TSN’s social media channels. “It took [people online] less than 24 hours from my [leave of absence] to try to find reasons to why I’m gone, saying that I’m a homewrecker, a person that no one likes on the team and I can’t defend myself.”

Ullmark, who is not active on social media, says that he didn’t learn of the rumours firsthand.

“Like I didn’t know about this until days later,” Ullmark said. “And it sucks because I have a family. I have a wife, I have kids. I get sent text messages asking like, ‘Hey, are you guys good?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, why?’ And then they tell you about the rumours and you’re like ‘What the f--- is wrong with people?’”

The 2023 Vezina Trophy winner as the league’s top goaltender, Ullmark is in his 12th NHL season and second with the Senators.