Senators slam ‘trolls and sick people’ as Linus Ullmark rumors spread

The Senators released a statement condemning the “completely fabricated and false stories” being spread online about goaltender Linus Ullmark and his leave of absence from the team. 

Salacious rumors appeared on social media Thursday revolving around Ullmark and the personal leave of absence he was granted by the team in late December. 

Ullmark has not played since Dec. 27 against the Maple Leafs — a game in which he gave up four goals. He was granted leave two days later. 

The statement from Steve Staios, the president of hockey operations and general manager, was released Thursday night shortly before the Senators faced the Avalanche in Denver. 

“Our organization was extremely disappointed to read the completely fabricated and false stories that are spreading around social media about our hockey club,” Staios said. “Linus is away from our team for personal reasons and he has the entire organization’s support. We asked that people respect his privacy, but clearly that request was not heard by the lowest forms of trolls and sick people who scour the internet.

“We are disgusted that outside forces are attempting to disrupt our hockey club. This statement will put an end to the ridiculous speculation that spread online.”

The Senators moved Ullmark to a non-roster spot earlier in the day on Thursday in order to make room on the roster for the return of center Lars Eller, who had been out since Dec. 11 with a lower-body injury. 

Ullmark is 14-8-5 this season with a .881 save percentage and 2.95 goals against average.