- Linus Ullmark met the media Friday for the first time since Senators camp opened, a year after saying he was unhappy with his game and his summer
- Ottawa added Maciej Szwoch as coordinator of goaltending scouting and development, a close friend who spent four days working with Ullmark in Sweden
- Read below for what Ullmark said about Szwoch, new backup Samuel Ersson and an 84-game schedule
Linus Ullmark showed up to Senators camp looking like a different guy.
The 33-year-old goaltender met with the media Friday for the first time since Ottawa opened camp, and he spent most of it smiling and laughing. That is a long way from last September, when he stood in the same spot and said he was not happy with his game or with how his offseason had gone.
Last season put him through it. Ullmark struggled out of the gate, took a 35-day leave of absence for mental health reasons, then returned and helped drag the Senators into the playoffs.
Carolina swept Ottawa in the first round, but Ullmark was his team’s best player in that series, posting a .932 save percentage and a 2.03 goals-against average.
He also turned up in new gear, red pads and gloves to match the Sens sweater. Take a look:
Ottawa changed things behind the scenes too. Steve Staios hired Maciej Szwoch as coordinator of goaltending scouting and development, a 41-year-old close friend and mentor of Ullmark’s who worked with him through the leave. Szwoch does not replace goalie coach Justin Peters, and the two will split duties at the NHL and AHL levels.
Ullmark was asked what it means to have Szwoch in the building full time.
“He was there when I started my career, over 15 years ago. We shared a lot of good, happy memories. Also some less happy memories. He has certainly earned his role here with the team,” Ullmark said.
Szwoch flew to Sweden in early September and spent four days working with Ullmark before the goalie returned to Ottawa, per Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. Peters made that trip a year ago, so they swapped it up.
Catch the full availability, with Ullmark up at the 21:29 mark:
Samuel Ersson is the other new face, in from Philadelphia on a two-year deal worth $2.2 million a season. Ullmark has never played more than 50 games in a year and the schedule is now 84, so Ersson should get 30 or more starts.
“It’s always fun to have a fellow Swede join the ranks, but also for me, as a Swedish goaltender, it’s nice to have that conversation with him on a daily basis,” Ullmark said.
Year two of Ullmark’s $8.25 million deal starts now, and Ottawa’s season rests on that tandem, which is why we called an Ullmark bounce-back the whole plan back in August.
