On Tuesday, TSN shared a clip of Ullmark getting visibly emotional while discussing his leave of absence in a sit-down with reporter Claire Hanna. A longer version of the interview is expected to be posted later.

Ottawa first announced the leave on December 28, calling it personal reasons and making it clear the team would not add details. Steve Staios said Ullmark had full organizational support, and that privacy mattered here.

For Bruins fans, the emotion hits differently because Ullmark was not just a rental in Boston. He won the 2022-23 Vezina Trophy in black and gold, then was traded to Ottawa in June 2024.

This season in Ottawa, he has a 14-8-5 record with a 2.95 goals-against average and an .881 save percentage. Those numbers are below his peak, but they also show how much workload he carried before stepping away.

His contract is huge, too, a four-year, $33 million deal with an $8.25 million cap hit, so the Senators have every reason to support him properly.

Ullmark's comments also landed in the middle of an ugly online rumor cycle, and he pushed back hard on how quickly people judged his family. He tied it to the stigma around mental health, and you could hear the strain.

Linus Ullmark speaks, Ottawa Senators step back

As a Bruins fan, I hated seeing him hurting, because you remember how steady he looked during that Vezina run.

This is the part of hockey we do not talk about enough, the human cost behind “personal reasons.” Ottawa already drew a line publicly, asking people to stop spreading fabricated stories and respect his privacy.

If the video does one thing, I hope it reminds everyone that goalies are not robots, even the elite ones. Bruins fans can miss him and still root for him to get through this, then come back when he is ready.