Ottawa Senators Goalie Linus Ullmark Meets the Media After Signing Long-Term Extension

When the Ottawa Senators acquired Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins, he had just one year left on his contract. So the immediate concern was this: Would the Senators fail to re-sign Ullmark like they did with Alex DeBrincat and Jakob Chychrun?

That concern was put to rest today when the club announced that Ullmark has signed a four-year extension worth $8.25 million AAV and is locked up for the next five years.

Ullmark had his wife, Moa, and their two children with him as he and GM Steve Staios addressed the media after practice on Wednesday. Here are a few of the highlights.

Ullmark greets the media

Ullmark: Well, first of all, thank you, Steve, for the introduction. It's sort of like a surreal feeling just because I'm still processing the whole thing. I saw my family now when they came in, almost had tears in my eyes just because it's such a monumental thing.

Looking back throughout my career, there's been a lot of hardships. There's been a lot of things that I probably wouldn't like to have relived, but I did it. I'm here today, I'm standing here as the man, the husband, and the hockey player just because of it. And I'm trying to bring all of my experience from those hardships and also the good times into this organization. I'm very thankful that I now have the opportunity to build something long-term.

And because this is not just gonna happen overnight, it's gonna be a process. And I'm hoping to be a positive injection into the organization. And to all the people of Ottawa and Gatineau, I felt the support and the love right from the start.

Media: Why did you want to sign Linus right now rather than wait a bit into the regular season?

Staios: Well, I think we stayed true to our approach, which was what Linus had just touched on. We wanted to make sure that Moa and the kids and Linus were comfortable within the community, comfortable with the organization, with our vision of the organization, my work, and the players. I felt confident that that was not only the right approach for the family but also for us as well.

Getting to see Linus in and around our team and the fit, not just positionally, but what I touched on, on the character and the leadership part of it as well, it became clear that this is something that we wanted to do long-term. To do it before the start of the season, I think, gives peace of mind for both of us. I want the team to be prepared to go into the season without any distractions. And I'm not saying this would have been a distraction, but it certainly would have been probably on Linus' mind. And we're glad we got to a deal, and now we can start the season fresh and ready to go.

How does it help you to know that this contract is in place to focus more on hockey moving forward?

Ullmark: If everything is taken care of off the ice, it's a lot easier to focus on what's important on the ice. And this will enable me, together with my family, to really settle in because it doesn't really matter what's gonna happen during the season. We know that we're in a good place as a family, as a team, as a community that it doesn't matter what's gonna happen. We always know that we have something to fall back on, and we can deal with those things that happen along the way. Instead of feeling that the boat is starting to capsize here and at home. Now we can figure those things out as we go, and we can feel that we're a lot better and a lot more safe, I would say, when it comes to those things.

What did you like about the situation on the ice that made you want to come in here for four more years?

Ullmark: It's what Steve said as well. There's a change in the air. And you can feel it from the outside, but also for someone that's coming in now and can see it in the locker room and talking to the players, talking to the coaching staff, even medical teams and trainers, everybody that works around or in this organization, there's this upbeat positive thinking. And you can sense that we're not happy with where we are. And we want to be a playoff team. We want to have success again. And we're not satisfied. And that's what I like about it.

Were you paying attention to the talks with Jeremy Swayman or Igor Shesterkin?

Ullmark: I mean, I'm not oblivious to it. I still look at it, I see it, but I don't I have to compare to myself. I don't wanna compare it to other people. They're in a different situation, they're different people, and there might be different things going into their conversations when it comes to contracts. I know what we're talking about. I'm more than happy with where we're at. And it's not just because of the pay upgrade.

But I'm just happy that we found a great fit for me and my family. And that's the most important part for me.