Linus Ullmark is off to a blistering start to the season for the Ottawa Senators.
It’s the kind of start that likely has some NHL fans in Buffalo going, wait a minute, the Sabres could use him.
There’s certainly a case to be made that Ullmark would be quite helpful to the Sabres right now.
Buffalo has three goalies at the NHL level, when you count the injured Alex Lyon. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen seems to drive the fanbase crazy, and Colten Ellis is currently allowing a few too many soft goals to begin the season.
The Sabres were involved in the Connor Hellebuyck sweepstakes this offseason and maybe even the frontrunner, but the Winnipeg Jets have yet to deal Hellebuyck anywhere, so that’s mostly irrelevant.
Ullmark, though, is a fascinating case — not because he’s a trade candidate right now, but because he was in Buffalo for so long.
Linus Ullmark Senators Stats
Before digging deeper into that, let’s appreciate the start to the season that Ullmark is having.
He’s 5-0-0, and he’s tops in the league in goals saved above expected.
He also has saved all 55 “perimeter shots” he has faced, essentially saying he has yet to give up an unlikely goal.
What a start to the season for Linus Ullmark.
5-0-0 and leads the league in goals saved above expected.
Perfect 55-for-55 on perimeter shots. #NoBadGoals https://t.co/V9R2n35zaU— Mike Kelly (@MikeKellyNHL) October 13, 2026
The Senators are off to their best start in 19 years, and it’s in large part because Ullmark simply is refusing to be stopped. In the more traditional goalie numbers, he has a 94.8 save percentage and a 1.27 goals against average.
This is as locked in as Ullmark has ever been.
Linus Ullmark From Sabres to Senators
Ullmark was a sixth-round pick of the Sabres in the 2012 NHL Draft at No. 163 overall, a young lefty Swedish goalie for their future plans.
He spent the first six seasons of his career in Buffalo. He went 50-47-13 in that time with a 91.2 save percentage and a 2.78 goals against average.
Ullmark then signed with the Boston Bruins before the 2021-22 season — the Sabres opted to let him leave in free agency rather than give him a contract.
The goalie then went and won the Vezina Trophy in 2022-23 with a 40-6-1 record and a 93.8 save percentage and 1.89 goals against average.
The Senators pulled off a trade for Ullmark after he had spent three seasons with Boston, and he’s now in his third season in Ottawa.
Last year, Ullmark was 28-12-8 for the Senators, and he’s off to an even better start to this season.
The Sabres have no way to get him now, but it’s curious what an alternate reality might’ve looked like where they chose to keep him after the 2020-21 season. The Sens certainly aren’t mad that they didn’t.
Sabres Sure Could Use Senators’ Linus Ullmark