LAS VEGAS – The NHL’s annual Players’ Tour is on right now in Vegas, where many of the league’s stars go through the media car wash as we prep for the upcoming season.
And while it’s only been the first of three days, Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark put himself in the running for quote MVP. Ullmark had some very interesting thoughts on a number of issues, beginning with extra overtime and therefore fewer shootouts.
“There should be a change,” he said. “We’ve already changed the offensive game a lot in general, with 3-on-3 and overtime. My two cents, we should add five more minutes of overtime like at the 4 Nations. Because it comes down more to play.
“From the perspective of a goaltender, you can go out and play the best game of your life and have a shutout – and the other goalie can play phenomenal as well – then you go out there and let in three (shootout goals), and you feel like the worst goalie ever. That’s just how it is, plain and simple. And I think a lot of other goalies feel the same way.
“At the same time, I always enjoy shootouts. It’s a love-and-hate. When you save all three and win, it’s such a rush, and you’re so happy because it’s on the line, you and the shooter. You get that vibe. But when you’re the reason you lose, it sucks.”
Ullmark also had an interesting suggestion for the NHL war room:
“I would add a specific goal watcher/referee in Toronto who has the perspective of goaltenders to really put it down in black and white what is goaltender interference and what is not,” he said.
“A lot of times, you look at a goal from the eyes of a goaltender and say, ‘Oh, that shouldn’t be a goal,’ but through the eyes of a player, they see it as a goal. You have all these reasonings back and forth. That’s an issue, where you don’t know when to call a video challenge. It’s like a gamble. I would like it to be very clear-cut, like it is with offside.”
That potential vagueness on a play – or even just how something is perceived – is something the Sens netminder would like to see vanquished, or at least fleshed out more.
“It really comes down to inches and perspective sometimes,” Ullmark said. “The goalie is outside of his crease trying to get back, but he gets jumbled up (with an opponent). In the rulebook, it says if you’re outside the crease, technically it shouldn’t be interference. But he’s trying to get back, and he’s not able to get there. I’d like it to get away from the grey zone.”
Ullmark was fantastically chatty at the Players’ Tour, and he has earned the reputation of being a great talker in NHL media circles. As it turns out, his outgoing personality is something he hopes can help those around him – and sometimes himself, as well.
“I’ve always been a very talkative, open guy,” he said. “I realized pretty early that if I contain all that inside of myself, it would take a toll on me. So it’s a way for me to stay sane. You play 82 games plus playoffs. I always thought it was more fun to be around people who are more talkative, so I try to be like that.
“It’s not just positive things, it can be negative things, too. I try to stay open. Some days I’m grumpier or sad – we all have those days. And if I can show more emotions, hopefully people feel more safe and secure talking to me about things. I want to be a teammate you can go to at any point of the day or always call. It’s something I’ve worked on with my wife, as well. To be more open in good and bad times.”
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In his first season with the Senators, Ullmark helped Ottawa break through and make the playoffs. For Year 2, he wants his team to head into the battle with the confidence that they can do it again, but also the humility that comes in knowing that making the post-season is very difficult.
At the least, Ottawa fans can rest assured that Ullmark will bring his elite skills and excellent dressing room attitude into that battle every game.
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