A season that ended in a sweep
The 33-year-old Ullmark took a 35-day leave of absence for mental health reasons during the previous season, but returned in time to help the Senators reach the playoffs. He was sharp when it mattered most: across a four-game series, Ullmark posted a .932 save percentage and a 2.03 goals-against average. It wasn't enough. Ottawa was swept in Round 1 by the Carolina Hurricanes.
Despite the early exit, Ullmark's individual performance in that series appears to have kept the Senators' confidence in him intact. He's heading into the second year of a contract that pays him $8.25 million a season, still the anchor of Ottawa's crease.
New faces, same goalie coach
Steve Staios, Ottawa's president of hockey operations and general manager, didn't replace goaltending coach Justin Peters, choosing continuity behind the bench. But the Senators did add depth around him, bringing in Maciej Szwoch as co-ordinator of goaltending scouting and development, a new piece meant to strengthen how the organization develops and evaluates netminders beyond the NHL roster.
The bigger change in net came in the form of competition. Ottawa brought in Samuel Ersson from the Philadelphia Flyers as Ullmark's backup. The 26-year-old Ersson is trying to get his own career back on track after a rough season in Philadelphia, and signed a two-year deal with the Senators that will pay him an average of $2.2 million per season.
What it means for the Senators
With Ersson pushing from behind and Peters still running the goaltending program, Ullmark heads into training camp with both stability and a bit more pressure to perform. The stakes are also higher across the league this year: the NHL schedule has been expanded to 84 games, meaning more mileage for every goaltender in the league, Ullmark included.
For a Senators team looking to build on last spring's playoff appearance and avoid a repeat sweep, how well Ullmark holds up over those extra games, and how much of a push Ersson provides, could shape Ottawa's season as much as anything else on the roster.
What led here
ottown's earlier report looked at whether the Senators can help Ersson resurrect his career as Ullmark's backup, while ottown's earlier report covered the team's other training camp moves as it fills out the roster around its core.
Sources: Ottawa Citizen (via Yahoo News Canada syndication)
