Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark opened up about the reason for his leave of absence during an interview with TSN's Claire Hanna published Tuesday.
"The real reason is mental health," said Ullmark, who hasn't played since Dec. 27. "And there's been a lot going on for a long time. I would say dating back to ever since the trade, and a lot of things have been positive as well throughout the years or these times. But a lot of the things that I had gone through or worried about hasn't really been dealt with in the right way."
Ullmark said his anxiety reached severe levels during that Dec. 27 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in which he allowed four goals on 14 shots. He said he called the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program as soon as the game was over.