Player Discussion Linus Ullmark (G)

[Cosmix]

I would like to sign Forsberg to a one or two year deal for a couple of reasons.

Firstly he is playing very well for a backup. The second reason is that Forsberg and/or Ullmark will most likely be injured next year at some point and Merilainen could continue to grow then.

Thirdly, I have a question. If we don't sign Merilainen to a 1-way contract next year do we have him as a restricted free agent for a longer period of time?

PuckPedia says Merillainen is UFA in 2030.

 

[Cosmix]

I don't even want to save Forsberg's salary to shore up forward 4th line depth, I want to use it toward a significant improvement over Giroux on our top 6. Forsberg + Hamonic + Giroux = ??? (ideally Ehlers?)

I realize some of the payroll will go toward Greig, and we'll need some for Zetterlund, but then we also have the cap going up...

I have a spreadsheet.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

No chance they keep Forsberg imo. Chance to potentially upgrade the position, while saving much needed cap.

They can surely find someone this summer for Belleville that can be a decent enough depth option.

 

[aragorn]

No chance they keep Forsberg imo. Chance to potentially upgrade the position, while saving much needed cap.

They can surely find someone this summer for Belleville that can be a decent enough depth option.

They still have Simpson & Sogaard & both Reidler & Nikutin could turn pro although signing a NHL vet like Jake Allen might work as a first callup when we have goalie injuries.

 

[JD1]

I agree on no chance they keep forsberg.

Levi looks good. Soogard is on a one way. And guys with 100 nhl starts under their belt in their 30s are going to command big money. I'd be looking at a 400k/1m ahl/nhl type option and seeing what's in that ballpark

 

[JD1]

Nah, unfortunately, I just saw a tweet about it. I’d love to see more, too, and see what defines a game as stolen or lost. He did also say:

Steal % (min. 25 starts)

Ullmark - 20.0%
Dostal - 18.2%
Gustavsson - 17.0%

Edit: it looks like steals may be when the goals saved above expected is grater than the goal differential in a game.

Found a stat for it from 8 days ago on Reddit, so these are a little outdated.

Gustavsson had 9 steals, 2 blown, +7
Dostal had 8 steals, 3 blown, +5
Helle had 6 steals, 1 blown, +5
Wolf had 5 steals, 0 blown (!!), +5

Lankinen had 2 steals, 7 blown, -5
Vasi had 4 steals, 9 blown (!!), -5
Elvis had 2 steals, 6 blown, -4
Soderblom had 3 steals, 7 blown, -4

So a steal is gsaa for a game is say 3 and we win by 2. That sounds OK I guess.

There's no question we're getting goalies stealing games this year more than blowing them and that's a huge reversal from previous years.

 

[DueDiligence]

Linus is not great every game but when he is "on" there is none better.

 

[Micklebot]

So a steal is gsaa for a game is say 3 and we win by 2. That sounds OK I guess.

There's no question we're getting goalies stealing games this year more than blowing them and that's a huge reversal from previous years.

If Mike Kelly was tweeting it, it's likely based off sportlogiq data which could be using different metrics than those that are publically available either way l I doubt they are using GSAA, which is just SV% rel to league average expressed in goals, I'd guess they'd be using an expected goals model to account for shot quality.

 

[AchtzehnBaby]

5 shutouts in first season.....

LEEE NEEEWSe

 

[Neil Patrick Harris]

Linus is not great every game but when he is "on" there is none better.

Feels like we've been so traumatized by bad goaltending that it's often forgotten that, yes, even good goalies sometimes have bad games and bad stretches.

 

[Senscore]

Back up to .911 on the season

 

[JungleBeat]

He’s one odd character for sure. Keep shutting the door forest.

 

[bicboi64]

He's top 10 in save percentage now!

Hope he gets used to that spot cuz its where we'll expect him to be the next few seasons

 

[Icelevel]

He's top 10 in save percentage now!

Hope he gets used to that spot cuz its where we'll expect him to be the next few seasons

Pretty good goaltending to end the year.

Try not to look at those two ex senators goalies who happen to have even better numbers.
Dohrion.

 

[zenator]

They still have Simpson & Sogaard & both Reidler & Nikutin could turn pro although signing a NHL vet like Jake Allen might work as a first callup when we have goalie injuries.

Jake Allen will be someone's backup goalie, not #3.

The Sens need a Martin Jones type as their #3. But not Martin Jones, as he appears to be done. Maybe Matt Murray (j/k).

Holy smokes, has Logan Thompson ever had a poor 2nd half. Didn't he have a .930 save % when he signed his big contract? Now .910. Looks like the Caps would have been better off keeping Kuemper, although Dubois is a good player. They could have signed a free agent for the Dubois role.

 

[Hotsam Batcho]

Did any of the media asked Ullmark about the goalie coach incident? Curious to know what happened

 

[Micklebot]

Did any of the media asked Ullmark about the goalie coach incident? Curious to know what happened

Even if they did you wouldn't get a real answer.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Even if they did you wouldn't get a real answer.

While true, I'm sure we'd all be amused by Ullmark's response.

 

[Very Stable Genius]

Hopefully he doesn't turn into a pumpkin in a few days, otherwise we're f***ed.

 

[mysens]

Hopefully he doesn't turn into a pumpkin in a few days, otherwise we're f***ed.

I may get my first new Sens jersey and was thinking of getting his....better not turn into a pumpkin. Last time I did this, I had bought Bondra....complete bust in Ottawa. Maybe I should hold off as I may spell a curse on Linus.

 

[OD99]

I may get my first new Sens jersey and was thinking of getting his....better not turn into a pumpkin. Last time I did this, I had bought Bondra....complete bust in Ottawa. Maybe I should hold off as I may spell a curse on Linus.

Bondra?! He was already on his way out of the NHL when we traded for him. You must have had high hopes, my friend!

I think you are safe with Ullmark. He will be here a while and remain a top goalie for the duration of his contract. I am very gun shy too, but you can see how scarred we all are from the fire fire we have had in nets for far too long.

He is about 7th or 8th in the league for Save% (for anyone who has played any legit amount of games) and is capable of stealing games for us. Yes, he can let in some bad ones, but every goalie can have those nights.

 

[albator71]

The only thing I know is before Ullmark got here we missed the playoffs 7 seasons in a row, and the Sens finished the season ranked 8th in save percentage compare to 31st the season before, so he must have done something right!

 

[Cosmix]

No chance they keep Forsberg imo. Chance to potentially upgrade the position, while saving much needed cap.

They can surely find someone this summer for Belleville that can be a decent enough depth option.

Forsberg for $1M for one season would provide one more year of development time for Merillainen; however, I don't think he needs it because he played very well when he was here and did well in Belleville during the regular season.

Belleville plays tonight and are virtually eliminated from the playoff race in the AHL; their playoff hopes could be dashed tonight if they lose. The Toronto Marlies or Cleveland Monsters will likely beat them out for a playoff spot.

 

[GoodinOsgoode]

The only thing I know is before Ullmark got here we missed the playoffs 7 seasons in a row, and the Sens finished the season ranked 8th in save percentage compare to 31st the season before, so he must have done something right!

Ullmark deserves credit in getting the Sens into the playoffs with his play, especially the run that he was on in December just before he got injured.

Green deserves credit in getting the team to play a more defensive style of play.
Going from 281 goals against in 2023-24 to 234 goals against in 2024-25 is huge.

Staois deserves credit in bringing in veteran players like Ullmark, Jensen, Perron, Amadio, Cousins and for the deadline deals that he made for Cozens & Zetterlund.

The secret weapon in getting us to the playoffs was Merilainen.
His .925 Save % along with 1.99 GAA & his 8-3-1 record in the middle of the season when Ullmark was injured, saved the season.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Forsberg for $1M for one season would provide one more year of development time for Merillainen; however, I don't think he needs it because he played very well when he was here and did well in Belleville during the regular season.

Belleville plays tonight and are virtually eliminated from the playoff race in the AHL; their playoff hopes could be dashed tonight if they lose. The Toronto Marlies or Cleveland Monsters will likely beat them out for a playoff spot.

With goaltending at such a premium in the league, i assume Forsberg will get closer to what he makes now than 1 mil, so I doubt thats an option.

Ill eat my hat if the bring back Forsberg. Even if Merilainen doesnt get the spot, I suspect they'll try a cheaper option, if available.