'Sometimes you’ve just got to get punched in the face': Senators process sweep, look ahead

“Sometimes, you’ve just got to get punched in the face.”

Those were the words of Thomas Chabot on Monday morning, the lingering disappointment over a first round sweep at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes still fresh on the minds of the Ottawa Senators who met the media during locker cleanout day.

The guy who’s been here the longest might have felt that punch the hardest, considering both his tenure with the organization and the pain he went through to suit up for a team needing a boost, just two weeks after breaking his arm.

“It hurts, and it should hurt. It will hurt for many, many more weeks… that’s the way it really should be,” said Chabot. “This group, man, everybody cares so much, seeing the look on guys after the game, still being in the room, and nothing was being said in that locker room. I know coming back next year, this one will be a good reminder for us.”

Chabot said that the bone he broke in his right arm would take about another three weeks to heal, and that the adrenaline helped him play through it in the playoffs.

“I hate watching… plates and screws, that’s what got me to play, to be honest. I mean, this is what, a couple of days over three weeks, so it’s far, far from being healed,” said the 29-year-old. 

“But no, I just wanted to get back out there and play. And doctors, team therapists, everybody was on the same page or all aware, but just glad I got to play, to be honest, because I didn’t think playoffs was even in the books when it happened.”

‘Really sad for the guys next to me’

Tim Stützle had his best statistical regular season in three years, finishing with 34 goals, 83 points, and a +7 rating in 80 games. After a pair of seasons shooting below 15 per cent, that also improved to 17.5 per cent — a career best. In the playoffs, though, he was snake bitten, a pair of ringing posts the closest he came to scoring on Frederik Andersen.

“It probably took me a little too long to get into Game 1 and 2, and yeah, that can’t really happen. You’ve got to be ready right from the start,” said Stützle.

“It’s brutal, too, I think Linus played so well. He gave us so many chances to win, and you want to get it done for him too. We didn’t score enough goals, obviously, but it was a tight series, and there’s a lot of points where it could have turned around, if we win Game 2, the series is going to be completely different.”

Stützle wasn’t just feeling it for Ullmark, who finished the postseason with a .932 save percentage and 2.03 goals-against average, but for every player in the room.

“I was just really sad for the guys next to me, how hard we battled all year to kind of get to that point. I think overall, I think we took major steps again, just getting better. Looking at the process, the big picture, I think we're really close to being a really good team and going really far in the playoffs,” said Stützle.

“When you look at the room, you have some older guys, you want to do it for them, and that's why it was so frustrating. I'm so young, like, I'm 24, you always think you're going to be in the spot again or get better and keep getting better every year. But yeah, you want to do it for those guys next year. And I think we had a really special group again this year. I think Steve [Staios] has done a tremendous job of bringing in veteran guys kind of preaching to young guys how it works and how you win in this league.”

The foremost of those veterans, Claude Giroux, spoke soon after. “You wake up in the morning and it’s hard to wrap your head around the season [being] over… it takes a long time,” said Giroux.

“Sitting here right now, it’s not what we had planned. Obviously, it’s not a secret the injuries we’ve had. But saying that, the guys that got called up, they came and played some really good hockey for us. Carolina’s made the playoffs for a while, and they’re a good team. They play well defensively, and we did a lot of good things, just hit a lot of posts, lot of chances, and in playoffs those need to go in.”

On everyone’s minds was the same question that will follow around the 38-year-old until he signs a new contract or otherwise announces his intentions for his playing career. Does he want to keep playing in the NHL?

“Yeah, I think everybody does, right? But you know, like I said, it’s too early to even answer that question for me, I need to calm down a little bit. Still a little fired up about the series, sometimes you need to take a step back and give yourself a chance just to kind of chill and see what’s next… spend some time with the kids, I’ve got a lot of things to think about. It’s too fresh right now to start thinking about it. I’ll take a few weeks and kind of see what’s next.”

Giroux said in French that if he continued playing, he’d prefer to remain in Ottawa with his young family. He also gave a glowing assessment of the culture in the locker room.

“I love spending time with those guys, they make it fun coming to the rink. They definitely keep me young, and being around them, I feel really lucky.”

‘I think that a lot of teams want to have that culture’ 

Another of the seven remaining active players from the 2006 NHL Entry Draft will also spend the spring determining his future. Midseason pickup James Reimer met with the team’s management before he met the media but says he will take some time to do what’s best for he and his family.

“I really enjoyed my time here, the guys were great, the city was great, the fans were great. I mean, the energy in the building on a nightly basis was a ton of fun, and again, just super grateful for the opportunity,” said Reimer.

“And obviously, I’m not 23 years old, so just got to take some time and kind of figure out what the best plan of action is for me. And then my family, obviously love them a lot, they’ve been incredibly supportive, so just got to make sure we’re making the best decision for our whole group.”

Reimer did prove an effective backup down the stretch, recording a .886 save percentage and 2.42 goals-against average in 14 appearances. He said he feels like he’s still capable of having success at the NHL level.

“I always joke, I would play until I was 50 if they let me. But no, at the end of the day, you know. I feel like for myself, I want to go out on my own terms and maybe kind of be in control of that. And if it doesn’t happen, then that’s all right,” said Reimer.

“Like I said in a couple interviews throughout the year this year, early on, I was content at the end of last year. I feel like I’ve had a good career, and I’m happy the way that things have turned out, the way I’ve played, and the growth I’ve had in my career throughout. So, very content with my NHL career, but obviously, I love the game and whatnot, so we’ll see.”

Something that was not up for debate for Reimer was how well he felt he fit into the locker room.

“Really impressed with this team, how every day they came to the rink and had a willingness to work, and to work well, and to work smart. There was a plan in place every day, and I thought the guys, the leadership group is great, and the culture here is just to do it well, to do it right, and to do it hard. I think a lot of teams want to have that culture and are building towards that culture,” said Reimer.

“That’s one of the brightest spots about this group, is that they have that right now, and that’s the foundation for success in this league.”

‘It was the first real time in this whole season where I felt like myself again’

Speaking of Ullmark, the 32-year-old said that it was a “surreal” feeling playing so well in the playoffs but being swept.

“It was the first real time where I felt like myself again, and I could do what I thoroughly enjoy, and didn’t feel like a chore. It didn’t feel exhausting, it felt motivational and inspirational,” said Ullmark.

“And truth be told, it felt weird as well, because you’ve been battling so hard your whole season, trying to find a groove and trying to find a way of performing, And now you do it at the top of your game, and you’re still losing. So it was a little bit of a surreal feeling, but playoffs is hard, it’s tough. You’ve got to deserve all the luck you can get.”

Two midseason acquisitions helped get Ullmark back to form when he returned from a five-week leave of absence on Jan. 31. The first was Reimer, signed by the Senators on Jan. 12.

“I thanked him after the series [for] helping me find myself again, in lots of different areas,” said Ullmark of Reimer. “He’s a guy that has been around this league for a lot of years, there’s a reason for it, it’s not just by fluke. 

The second was Maciej Szwoch, Ullmark’s mentor and former goaltending coach from Sweden. He was in attendance for many practices and games in the second half of the season.

“It was great, and there was a reason for why he was here. And it changed over time. At the beginning, for myself, it was more to have extra support, and we had a lot of conversations, a lot of discussions trying to find the reason why I play hockey, basically,” said Ullmark.

“Talking about legacies, talking about everyday things, talking about who I want to be on and off the ice. Everything, we dissected, everything, when the time felt right to do it, and then things started falling into place. Motivation started to come back. Started to find a reason, or reasons, to keep playing hockey, so to speak.”

Throughout the season of ups and downs and distractions and detractors on socials media, Ullmark identified with a sign from a fan that he saw in the second half of the season, a sign that was one of those reasons to keep playing hockey.

“It might be a few persons that had this sign, but they can brag all they want about it, because I actually saw it, and it spoke loudly to me at the moment, and they started bringing it in, I don’t know when. But I think it said on it that the only noise that matters is the cheers from the fans,” said Ullmark.

“I saw it every once in a while, at home games, it just stuck with me, because yes, it is the only thing that matters, our fans cheering, screaming at home games, or even away games, but our supporters cheering for us in our barn, that’s what matters. We play for each other, but we also play for the city of Ottawa, we play for the crest in front of us, and for everyone that’s aspiring to be Ottawa Senators in the future. And so seeing that sign, thank you for making it, that was very special, at least to me.” 

The fans embraced Ullmark particularly in the playoffs, even chanting his name as the Senators saluted the crowd after being swept. It would almost certainly stand as one of the only times an NHL goalie’s name was chanted in a positive manner after failing to win a playoff game.

“I feel like it was dominant, there wasn’t a goalie that was close to how he performed in the playoffs,” contended James Reimer. 

“Obviously, Andersen was good, but I thought Linus was dominant. You know, it was one of those cases where guys were getting Grade A’s and he didn’t really worry about it much, because he just felt that he knew where the puck was going before the guy shot it, and if he didn’t see it, it was still going to hit him.

“Really impressed by the way he kept playing at that level, even though we weren’t winning. I think it’s hard, sometimes as a goalie, when you feel like you’re playing well, and you can’t get wins, and the pressure kind of builds, and you [feel] like you need to do more and then you end up doing less because of the pressure and whatnot. And I just thought he stayed in it the whole way, right to the end… shocking that it was a sweep based on the level that he had.”

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