Linus Ullmark
Sven Linus Ullmark is a Swedish professional ice hockey player who is a goaltender for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League.
Ullmark was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the sixth round, 163rd overall, of the 2012 NHL entry draft and made his NHL debut in 2015. With the Boston Bruins during the 2022β23 season, He led the NHL in wins, goals against average, and save percentage, scored an empty net goal, becoming the 13th NHL goaltender to do so, and won both the Vezina Trophy and William M. Jennings Trophy, the latter being shared with his teammate Jeremy Swayman.
Playing career
Sweden
Ullmark began his junior career assigned to Kramfors-Alliansen of the Swedish J18 Elit League in the 2008β09 season, despite remaining part of Modo's organization. However, when one of the goaltenders assigned to Modo's J20 team left, Ullmark rejoined Modo and appeared in one game in the 2009β10 season. He remained with Modo's J20 team for the 2010β11 season, appearing in two games. He split the 2011β12 season between Modo's J20 team and Modo's senior team in the Swedish Hockey League, playing 25 games in J20 and 3 games in the SHL. He split the 2012β13 season between Modo's J20 team, playing 25 games, registering a 2.04 goals against average and a save percentage 0.924, Mora IK in the HockeyAllsvenskan, playing six games with a GAA of 2.10 and a save percentage of 0.904 and six games with Modo's senior team, with a 2.07 GAA and a 0.934 save percentage. He added five games in the playoffs with Modo's senior team. Ullmark played with Modo's senior team only in 2013β14 season, making 35 appearances, with a record of 17 wins and 16 losses, a GAA of 2.08 and a save percentage of 0.931. For his play that season, he was awarded the Honken Trophy as the league's best goaltender. He returned to Modo for the 2014β15 season playing 35 games, with a record of 12β20β0, a GAA of 3.12 and a save percentage of 0.904.Buffalo Sabres
In his first year eligible for the National Hockey League 's entry draft in 2011, he was not among those chosen. In the following 2012 NHL entry draft, Ullmark was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the sixth round, 163rd overall. On 28 May 2014, Ullmark was signed by the Sabres to a three-year, entry-level contract. In his first season in North America, Ullmark attended the Sabres' training camp. After recovery from an early injury, he was assigned to begin the 2015β16 season with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League. Ullmark played in three games before being recalled to the Sabres on 23 October 2015, replacing Nathan Lieuwen, who was sent to Rochester in his place. He made his NHL debut the following day, making 24 saves in a 4β3 defeat to the New Jersey Devils. His first victory came in his second start, a 3β1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. He appeared in 20 games with Buffalo, with a record of 8β10β2, a GAA of 2.60 and a save percentage of 0.913. In 28 games with Rochester he had a record of 10β16β0, a GAA of 3.41 and a save percentage of 0.902.Ullmark spent the majority of the subsequent 2016β17 season with the Americans, amassing a record of 26β27β2, a 2.87 GAA and a save percentage of 0.909. He was selected along with teammate Cole Schneider to represent Rochester at the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic. He was recalled multiple times by Buffalo but only saw action at the end of season when he started in the Sabres' final game. The Sabres fell 4β2 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on 9 April 2017, with Ullmark stopping 33 of 37 shots. On 13 June, the Sabres re-signed Ullmark to a two-year, $1.5 million contract. In the 2017β18 season, Ullmark once again spent the majority of the time with Rochester in the AHL, with a record of 21β12β4 in 44 games, a GAA of 2.44 and a save percentage of 0.922. He represented Rochester at the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic alongside teammate C. J. Smith. He was recalled to the Sabres for the first time on 8 January 2018 to replace an injured Robin Lehner. He started his first game of the NHL season on 11 January, earning his only victory in a 3β1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. He returned to Rochester after Lehner recovered. He was recalled again in March as the Sabres carried three goaltenders on their, sharing the net with Lehner and Chad Johnson. He appeared in four more games, losing all four of them, before suffering a concussion. He finished his time with Buffalo with a 1β4β0 in five games, a GAA of 2.00 and a save percentage of 0.935. After recovering Ullmark was sent back to Rochester after they qualified for the 2018 Calder Cup playoffs. However, he fared less well, allowing 16 goals in three games as the Americans were swept by the Syracuse Crunch in their first round, best-of-five series.
Ullmark joined the Sabres full-time during the 2018β19 season after the Sabres let Lehner and Johnson depart as free agents. In his season debut on 13 October, he recorded his first career NHL shutout, stopping all 36 shots faced in a 3β0 win over the Arizona Coyotes. On 22 December, Ullmark stopped all 40 shots faced to shut out the Anaheim Ducks 3β0. Overall, in 37 games, he had a 15β14β5 record, with a GAA of 3.11 and a save percentage of 0.905 while sharing the net with Carter Hutton. On 3 August 2019, the Sabres re-signed Ullmark to a one-year, $1.325 million contract. In the following 2019β20 season, again splitting the netminding duties with Hutton, Ullmark went winless in eleven games before suffering an injury to his right leg in a 5β2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on 28 January 2020. He returned to the lineup after missing 18 games on 9 March in a 3β2 shootout win over the Washington Capitals, marking his final appearance before the NHL suspended the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic on 12 March. He finished the season with a record of 17β14β3, a GAA of 2.69 and a save percentage of 0.915.
With the start of the 2020β21 season delayed by the pandemic, Ullmark signed a one-year, $2.6 million contract with the Sabres on 26 October. Ullmark missed a couple of games into the season due to his father passing. He established himself as the Sabres' starting goaltender until suffering a lower-body injury on 25 February 2021. He missed 15 games before returning on 27 March, with Hutton, Dustin Tokarski and Jonas Johansson sharing the net in his absence. The Sabres lost all of the games he missed, plus three more after his return before Ullmark was in net on 31 March for a 6β1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers to stop their 18-game losing skid, the longest in the NHL since the 2003β04 season. However, his return was short-lived, after suffering another lower-body injury in his eighth game back on 13 April, missing the remainder of the season. He finished the season with a record of 9β6β3 in 20 appearances, a GAA of 2.63 and a save percentage of 0.917.
Boston Bruins
On 28 July 2021, Ullmark left the Sabres as a free agent and signed a four-year, $20 million contract to be the starting goaltender with the Boston Bruins. Ullmark played his first regular season game for the Bruins on 22 October, a 4β1 win against the Sabres. Although rookie Jeremy Swayman started the first couple games of the season, Ullmark started most of the games before the Bruins previous starting goaltender Tuukka Rask's returned from injury in November. However, Ullmark retained his position as starting goaltender with Rask as his backup until February 2022, when Rask retired. He recorded his first shutout with the Bruins his final game of the season on 28 April, a 5β0 win over the Sabres. Ullmark finished the season with a record of 26β10β2 in 41 games, with a GAA of 2.45 and a save percentage of 0.917. Ullmark was named as the starting goaltender for the Bruins for their first round, best-of-seven series against the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs. Ullmark struggled in the first two games, as he let in four goals in both games, both of which were losses. As a result, the team opted to start Swayman in game three, who started the rest of the series. The Bruins were eliminated by Carolina in game seven.The 2022β23 season was a historic one for the Bruins. Ullmark and Swayman's post-victory "goalie hug" embrace became a widely-covered team ritual. Ullmark was named one of three Boston representatives to the 2023 NHL AllβStar Weekend, joining head coach Jim Montgomery and teammate David PastrΕΓ‘k. Ullmark notched his 100th career win on 19 January, saving 25 of 26 shots against the New York Islanders. On 25 February, he became the thirteenth NHL goaltender to score a goal, and the first since Pekka Rinne in 2020, as he shot the puck directly into the Vancouver Canucks' empty net with less than one minute remaining in the Bruins' 3β1 win. The Bruins finished the regular season with new records in both wins and points, winning the Presidents' Trophy. Ullmark and Swayman together received the William M. Jennings Trophy as the goaltending tandem to allow the fewest goals against. Ullmark's personal record was 40β6β1 and he led the NHL in GAA and save percentage. He was named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender. The Bruins entered the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs as the favourites for the championship. However, they were ousted in the first round by the Florida Panthers, squandering a 3β1 series lead in the process. Ullmark was ultimately pulled after game six, after he had allowed seven goals in the game. Ullmark defended coach Montgomery, saying "something that everybody does when things aren't going the way they want to is they're trying to find a scapegoat." Ullmark was named an NHL First Team All-Star on 26 June and the winner of the Vezina Trophy on 27 June.
Although Ullmark entered the 2023β24 season as Boston's starting goaltender, Swayman's play saw him get an uptick in starts. As was established in the previous two seasons, however, the two still split relatively even starts, with Ullmark starting 39 games to Swayman's 43. Ullmark finished off the season on a strong note, recording a 1.90 GAA and.935 save percentage in his final nine games after the trade deadline. Faced with a goaltending dilemma, Montgomery started Swayman in the Bruins' first game in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and then Ullmark in game two. After game two, the rest of the starts of the series went to Swayman, and the Bruins would beat the Maple Leafs in seven games to advance to the second round. Although Swayman served as the team's starting goaltender for the second round matchup against the Panthers, Ullmark did come into relief for Swayman in game two. The Bruins were eventually eliminated in six games by the Panthers.
Ottawa Senators
On 24 June 2024, Ullmark was traded to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Mark Kastelic, Joonas Korpisalo, and a 2024 first-round pick. Just prior to the start of the 2024β25 season, despite still having one year left on his existing deal, Ullmark signed a four-year contract with the Senators on 9 October. He made his Senators debut in the season opening 3β1 victory over the Florida Panthers on 10 October, also recording his first win with Ottawa. On 12 November, he registered his first shutout with Ottawa in a 3β0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. He suffered an injury in a game against the Montreal Canadiens on 12 October and missed time, returning on 25 October. He injured his back on 22 December in a 3β1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. He returned to the lineup on 4 February 2025 after missing 18 games.On December 28, 2025, Ullmark took a leave of absence from the Senators for personal reasons in order to deal with his mental health. On January 25, 2026, Ullmark returned to the roster as a backup against the Las Vegas Golden Knights and started on January 31 against the New Jersey Devils.
International play
Ullmark was selected to play for Sweden men's national [ice hockey team|Sweden's national team] at the 2014 IIHF World Championship in Minsk, Belarus. He did not play in the tournament, as he was the team's third goaltender behind Anders Nilsson and Joacim Eriksson. He was awarded a bronze medal after Sweden defeated the Czech Republic 3β0 on 25 May 2014 to finish third in the tournament. He returned to the national team for the 2022 IIHF World Championship in Cologne, Germany. He made three appearances for Sweden in the tournament as the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Canada.Ullmark was named to Sweden's team for the 2025 debut of the 4 Nations Face-Off on 4 December 2024. Having just returned to the Senators' lineup due to a back injury, Ullmark was used as Filip Gustavsson's backup for the first two games of the tournament. However, Gustavsson left the second game with an illness and Ullmark entered the game, stopping 15 of 17 shots, as the team fell to Finland 4β3 in the game. Facing elimination, Ullmark was expected to start the final game of the round-robin tournament against the United States, but due to an illness, was replaced with the team's third goaltender, Samuel Ersson. The Swedes won the game, but failed to advance to the final after Canada beat Finland.
Ullmark and Ersson were not named to Team Sweden's 2026 Olympics roster.
Personal life
Ullmark grew up in Lugnvik, a small town in Sweden with an older brother named Tobias. His father, Jan-Olof played a role in Ullmark's childhood until he suffered a stroke which prevented him from working. After his brother left, his father, due to his health issues, turned to alcoholism. Ullmark opened up that his father's alcoholism had a negative impact on him when growing up and that he thought about quitting hockey. However, he cited his then-girlfriend Moa Wikman, goalie coaches Maciej Szwoch and Magnus Helin, as well as help from Modo's psychiatrist as reasons for persevering. On January 18th 2021, his mother told him that Jan-Olof passed away from complications of diabetes related to alcoholism. Ullmark revealed to TSN that his father's passing made him deal with depression.Ullmark married Wikman in 2017 and they have a son and daughter.
Ullmark is a fan of esports, and of Dota 2 in particular. On 18 March 2019, he appeared on a Dota 2 podcast where he discussed the differences between playing Dota and ice hockey, as well as comparisons between the professional scenes of competitive gaming and traditional sports.