The public does not know 100 percent why Linus Ullmark needed a rest and didn't play last Saturday while the Ottawa Senators battle for the playoffs. But while Keith Tkachuk didn't mention Ullmark specifically, people are associating his comments with the goaltender.
Two things can be true at once.
The fact that Brady Tkachuk and Matthew Tkachuk have a hockey podcast that pulls back the curtain and reveals what it's really like to play in the NHL is great entertainment for hockey fans. But at the same time, it can provide some awkward moments for hockey teammates.
Since the first episode of Wingmen aired back in November, listeners have discovered that Vegas' Jack Eichel sometimes trains with a pirate-style of patch over one of his eyes, that Brady Tkachuk was drug-tested following the gold-medal game at the Olympics and that Matthew Tkachuk enjoys "popping Zyns" while killing time in the penalty box.
But in a recent episode featuring Brady and Matthews' father on Wednesday, things got uncomfortably awkward when Keith Tkachuk said they're playing in a soft league right now.
"Holy Christ, his whole team," Keith Tkachuk said in what might have been a veiled reference to Matthew Tkachuk's Florida Panthers, who are currently without half a dozen players. "My pinky hurts. I'm out for six-to-eight (weeks)."
"I knew that was coming," said a laughing Matthew Tkachuk. "I knew right when he said that, I was like 'Don't say it.' "
" 'I just had a bad sleep, so I can't play today,' " Keith Tkachuk said in a lilting voice. "Oh my god, disgusting."
"Alright, we’re going to move on here," said Matthew Tkachuk, while his brother took repeated sips from his drink while trying to stifle back laughter.
"'I can't play back to back,' " Keith Tkachuk continued again in his mocking tone. " 'Rest management.' "
"That is crazy. Back-to-back, that used to not be... whatever," replied Matthew Tkachuk.
"Grant Fuhr played 70 games in one year. Seventy-six," said Keith Tkachuk. Fuhr, a goaltender, played 79 games in 1995-96, 73 games the season afterward and 75 games in 1987-88.
That last jab could have been directed at the Ottawa Senators.
Keith Tkachuk didn't explicitly say Linus Ullmark's name. But in a week where the Senators goalie did not play in Saturday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning because he needed to "rest", it was easy to connect the dots — especially given Brady Tkachuk's reaction to his father's comments.
For Senators fans, the comments might have been a little too real. And for Brady Tkachuk, who is the captain of a team that is currently outside of a playoff spot, it might have also hit a little too close to home.
The Senators, which are jockeying for a playoff spot, are in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings, just two points back of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final wild-card spot. They need every single point they can get down the stretch.
Which is why Ullmark missing Saturday's game against the Lightning because he needed a rest not only sent shock waves throughout Ottawa, but also the entire hockey world.
"What Linus Ullmark did on Saturday night was completely unacceptable," TSN's Jeff O'Neill said on Overdrive. "I know he's had his difficulties this year. His team stood by him, and the organization stood by him. This is about the team chasing the playoffs and everybody contributing.
"And he said he needed a day off in the biggest game of the year? Not buying it. It's not part of the league. You don't get to pick and choose when you wanna feel good and when you don't."
Perhaps making matters worse was that a few days later, Ullmark was in the net in a 6-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, where he allowed six goals on 29 shots to a team that is without star forwards Aleksander Barkov, Brad Marchand, Sam Reinhart and Anton Lundell.
In other words, so much for resting up for the next game.
Still, what didn't get mentioned in the podcast was that Ullmark had taken a one-month leave of absence earlier this season for personal reasons related to his mental health. It was a difficult time for the Ottawa goalie, who had people online making outlandish speculations.
"It took (people online) less than 24 hours from my absence of leave to try to find reasons to why I'm gone, saying that I'm a homewrecker, a person that no one likes on the team. And I can't defend myself," Ullmark said in an exclusive interview with TSN's Claire Hanna in January.
To his credit, Ullmark has gone 9-3-3 since returning to the lineup on Jan. 31, and has been a big reason why the Senators are even within striking distance of a playoff spot.
"I think fans need to relax, because the word 'rest' in sports gets thrown out a lot," former NHLer Drew Shore said on The Hockey News Big Show on Wednesday. "Is he dealing with an injury? That's way different than just saying… like maybe he had a groin or a hip thing going on that he thought if he rested one game, it could suit him better for the rest of the stretch. And I have no idea, right?
"That's a completely different story situation than if you're in the middle of a fight with your teammates and decide you woke up from your nap a little bit tired and wanted the day off."
As Shore said, we don't know why Ullmark needed to rest. And perhaps, neither does Brady Tkachuk. After all, if we have learned anything this season — both from Ullmark's absence and the Wingmen podcast — a lot goes on behind the scenes that fans are often not privy to.
And not everything is a joke.
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