Sens fans excited for Linus Ullmark to suit up between the pipes

Like many Ottawa Senators faithful, Keegan McGlade was thrilled by the news of the Sens' acquisition of goalie Linus Ullmark.

"I was at Jack Astors waiting for Game 7 to start. My buddy was sitting beside me and he got the notification," explained McGlade. "He's like, oh my God, he's just as big of a fan, and we were like freaking out."

The 30-year-old goalie from Sweden was traded to Ottawa on Monday by the Boston Bruins just moments before Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.

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"Ottawa's been a bit of a goalie graveyard for a few years now," said McGlade. "It's not every day you get a Vezina trophy winner on the block."

Ullmark, who took the trophy for the NHL's top goalie in the 2022-2023 season, says he's eager to suit up for the Sens.

"It's a very young, but exciting team; there's a lot of speed, a lot of skills," said Ullmark in a Zoom interview from his home in northern Sweden. "Hopefully going into this season, with some new coaching staff and all that sort of stuff, we can get the get that ball rolling and, once we do that, that's going to be a very dangerous team going forward."

His decision to come to Ottawa also factored in his family.

"The thing that everybody talked about is that Ottawa is a great place to raise a family," he said. "Once you become a father and you have two kids and all that sort of thing, you say it's a lot of things that's happening off the ice that you can't control, but you want to be in as much control as possible."

The Sens have been making big moves in the off-season with a new goalie and a new coach. With the NHL Draft just a few days away and a seventh overall pick, many people are eager to see how this will shape the upcoming season.

"It's a rebuilding of the team,” said Ottawa resident Doris Gaspar. "Getting some great players on there and then see what happens from there."

"It's pretty, pretty fun to like, think about for next season, hopefully to make the playoffs and, make a run out of it," said Rockland resident Liam Lynn.

General Manager Steve Staios remains tight lipped but optimistic on next decisions.

"With the addition of Linus and what I believe is the potential for the internal growth for our group… I believe we're moving in the right direction," he said.