As he does on the ice, Brady Tkachuk came to his teammate’s defence off it.
The Ottawa Senators captain did not mince words Saturday morning when he addressed online rumours about the reason for goaltender Linus Ullmark’s personal leave, which had general manager Steve Staios releasing a statement earlier in the week that referred to “trolls” and “sick people” as the source of the rumours.
“I don’t think anybody’s pretty happy about a narrative being spread like that,” Tkachuk said. “It’s OK for people to critique our on-ice performance, but when it gets into family it’s pretty f–king bullshit.”
“It’s embarrassing that it got to the point that it did. I can tell you for free I’m not happy about it one bit.”
The Senators announced Dec. 28 that Ullmark was taking a leave of absence. The club has gone 2-4-0 in his absence, was outscored 24-15 in that span and ranked second-last in the NHL’s Eastern Conference.
The Senators were to host the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Saturday night after two losses on the road that included an 8-2 thumping by the Colorado Avalanche.
Saturday morning’s skate was the first time players spoke to local media about the online speculation and Staios’ statement two days earlier.
“Linus is away from our team for personal reasons, and he has the entire organization’s support,” the GM said in that statement.
“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 spread online.”
Tkachuk appreciated Staios’ strong words.
“It was great to see him defend us,” said Tkachuk. “It’s a crazy story that I don’t even know who would in their right mind would come up with.”
“That’s just how it is in our society and life now that people can just say whatever they want and no repercussions and don’t really realize who it affects.”
Senators centre Tim Stützle said the team supports Ullmark.
“I want to say I really appreciate what Steve did there, kind of standing up for the group,” he said.
“What Linus is going through … what’s been said on Twitter and everyone’s social media is absolutely not true. We love him in this room, and there’s nothing that happened and, yeah, we have the full support for him.”
Senators head coach Travis Green echoed his players’ sentiments.
“It’s great what Steve did,” Green said. “You’re talking about a player that’s going through something that’s personal.”
“I don’t think people understand how that can affect a person. And one thing about it is we’re a team, whether it’s ownership, management, coaches, players that care for each other and want the best for each other and support each other.”
On Friday, the Senators announced the signing of 37-year-old goalie James Reimer to an American Hockey League professional tryout with the Belleville Senators.
Green called the signing a depth move. It remains to be seen if he will join the NHL club at some point.
Leevi Merilainen has carried the bulk of the workload in Ullmark’s absence and was to start against the Panthers.
“We’re grinding right now and the only way we’re gonna get out of it is with each other, positivity and an opportunity to grind out a big win tonight,” said Tkachuk.
