Senators 2025-26 Player Preview: Linus Ullmark

With the 2025-26 season approaching quickly, it is time to start looking at what the Ottawa Senators have to work with. They finally made it back to the playoffs, but this season is going to be about building off the success they found last season.

In this 2025-26 Player Preview series, we are going to look at all of the players and what to look for from them this season. Today, we’re highlighting goalie Linus Ullmark.

Ullmark by the Numbers

Drafted: 163^rd Overall (Sixth Round) in 2012 by the Buffalo Sabres

Position: Goalie (catches left)

Height/Weight: 6-foot-2, 204 pounds

Age/Birthdate: 32 years old (31/07/1993)

Country: Sweden

2024-25 Stats: 25 wins, .910 save percentage, 2.72 goals-against average, four shutouts in 44 games

Career Stats: 163 wins, .917 save percentage, 2.54 goals-against average, 12 shutouts in 291 games

How Ullmark Got Here

Ullmark began his career with the Sabres in 2015-16 after Robin Lehner was injured in the season opener, forcing Buffalo to call up their rookie goalie. He performed surprisingly well in his 20-game stint, posting a .913 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.60 goals-against average (GAA) despite his losing record. However, after Lehner returned, he was returned to the minors.

Ullmark returned to the NHL full-time in 2018-19, splitting duties with Carter Hutton, until his contract expired at the end of the 2020-21 season. Looking for a more prominent role with a team, he then signed a four-year, $5 million deal with the Boston Bruins, giving them some security in net with Tuukka Rask’s future uncertain.

Paired with Jeremy Swayman, the duo became the NHL’s best tandem. In 2022-23, Ullmark led the league with a 1.89 GAA and a .938 SV%, leading to his first All-Star appearance, and he won the Jennings and Vezina Trophies that season. But Ullmark still wasn’t the Bruins’ starter, and with both his and Swayman’s contracts up for renewal, Boston agreed to send Ullmark to the Senators for Joonas Korpisalo, Mark Kastelic, and a first-round pick.

In Ottawa, he was the uncontested starting goalie for the first time in his NHL career, and while there were some bumps in the road, he still put up a .910 SV% and recorded 25 wins, helping the Senators reach the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons. His performance earned him a spot on Team Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off, and he is expected to join Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

Ullmark’s Role in 2025-26

The Senators haven’t had a true number one goalie since Craig Anderson, so the expectation this season is that Ullmark will build on his strong first season in Ottawa. There’s also the hope that he can remain healthy after missing 22 games to a back injury last season, which slowed his early success with the team.