Sweden's star-studded Olympic hockey roster overlooked a pair of Ottawa Senators hopefuls.
Last weekend, the Ottawa Senators announced that starting goalie Linus Ullmark would be taking a leave of absence from the team for personal reasons. While he has the club's full support, it has forced the Senators to move on without Ullmark for the foreseeable future
Now, for the second time in eight months, Team Sweden is also moving on without Ullmark.
Sweden announced their 2026 Winter Olympic men's hockey roster on Friday, and Ullmark was not a part of the picture. The Swedes opted to go with former Senator Filip Gustavsson, his Minnesota Wild teammate Jesper Wallstedt, and veteran Jacob Markstrom of the New Jersey Devils.
Ullmark has had an inconsistent season in Ottawa, posting an .881 save percentage and a 2.95 goals against. But Markstrom hasn't been any better at .884 and a GA of 3.32. So it's fair to assume that Ullmark's personal leave of absence from hockey and the rust that comes with that had at least some hand in the decision.
But according to Swedish report, team officials say they'd made their decision before that.
The 32-year-old did play at the 4 Nations back in February as a backup to Gustavsson, and concerns about rust didn't play into that decision either. Three days before Christmas, Ullmark left a Sens game versus Edmonton with a stiff back and didn't return until early February, just before the 4 Nations break.
At the tournament, he came on in relief for the Swedes' second game and was slated to play in the team's third and final game of the round robin. However, Ullmark stood down because of an illness, making way for Samuel Ersson to start the final game.
Three months later, Ullmark said he wanted to play for his country at the 2025 World Hockey Championships in Stockholm, but Sweden opted to go in another direction. They went with Markstrom, Ersson, and Arvid Soderblom.
“It would have been a great opportunity to play for Team Sweden back home in Stockholm,” Ullmark said in the final Ottawa media availability back in May. “So, I’m let down about that whole situation. I really wish that I had the opportunity to do that and put the national team jersey on, especially when we didn’t make it to the second round."
Ullmark won the 2023 Vezina Trophy with the Boston Bruins (.938 SV%, 1.89 GA), and while his numbers weren't nearly as good the following season, they were still solid (.915, 2.55). But his seasonal performance continued to trend downward in the year and a half since his trade to Ottawa:
2024-25: .910, 2.70
2025-26: .881, 2.95
There's no getting around it. The Senators have Ullmark for three and a half more years at $8.25 million per season, and this deal isn't yet tracking in the direction they'd hoped.
Up front, Fabian Zetterlund was reportedly under Olympic consideration for Sweden as well, but didn't quite get there. With 7 points in his last 8 games, Zetterlund is heating up now, and Ottawa is loving it. But his ice-cold start to the season, with 3 points in the first 17 games, probably knocked him off Sweden's radar.
Along with Gustavsson, Sweden's Olympic team does have some other former Senators content in Erik Karlsson and Mika Zibanejad. Both were named to the squad on Friday.
Here are the Senators players and staff who will participate in the men's hockey tournament next month at the Milano Santagiulia Arena.
Brady Tkachuk – USA
Jake Sanderson – USA
Mike King – USA (video coach)
Team USA Roster: Senators Defenseman Jake Sanderson Is In, Shane Pinto Is Out
Sanderson secures his Olympic spot, but Pinto's injury probably derailed his chance for Team USA's 2026 squad.
Tim Stützle – Germany
Nicholas Matinpalo – Finland
Lars Eller – Denmark
John Forget – Canada (equipment manager)
Dom Nicoletta – Canada (athletic therapist)
Denmark hasn't announced its full roster yet, but Belleville Senators goalie Mads Sogaard is likely to get the nod behind starter Frederik Andersen.
The men's tournament will run from Feb. 11-22, and for the first time since the 2014 Olympics, it will be a true best-on-best event.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News - Ottawa
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