Linus Ullmark opens up about the end of his Bruins tenure

Linus Ullmark opens up about the end of his Bruins tenure

let’s talk to one of our favorite people full stop Lena Sark Ottawa Senators goenda hey guys how have you been amazing we’re just gonna blush this whole interview because we talk about how good a guy you are more than we talk about you as a player but you’re just the absolute best so we’re glad to have you on especially during a time when a bunch of change has been going on has is there like a relief that has set in or are you still feeling like there’s a million moving Parts in your life it’s definitely still a lot of moving Parts but I think that I am in a very good spot when it comes to the preparations for the move uh I have a good team that supports me when it comes to that sort of thing and also the sense I’ve been very good when it comes to helping me with all the questions that I’ve had and there’s always going to be more questions when you’re moving to a different country obviously I’ve never been in Canada except for when we play games here so living in Canada is also going to be a little bit different but a lot of people say that Canada is like a bigger Sweden so I’m looking forward to it is that Ive never heard that before I will tell you what though I was in Edmonton for the Cup Final and they got the thing that you got going on where it’s 10 o’clock at night and it’s light out I thought that there was some sort of like global warming thing going on and they were like no if you are up north it’s light out it’s incredible go Sweden oh yeah it’s great I play golf now uh before Midsummer and I came home like uh 11:30 p.m. and it was still bright outside so it was great I love those things that’s awesome uh is your heart broken just like mine yeah I mean when it comes to the personal side of it all yes when it comes to sports the the my career and and things like that I’m very much looking forward to the new opportunity that I get to have in in Ottawa but once you’ve experienced all the all the love and the friendship that you have in that that I got to have in Boston obviously if I didn’t feel any sort of you know sadness or not anger but not anxiety either but just the the worst part um I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed my stay in Boston so now when I actually do have these feelings inside of me once I got traded I’m like okay yeah this just goes to show how loved and how much we enjoyed uh being a Boston Bruin and living in Boston there there was definitely an understanding with last year’s Bruins team or I guess this year’s Bruins team that more changes were coming how did you get through that knowing that like there’s a good chance that you would possibly be one of those [Music] changes um well I’m older than wiser now so that made made it easier but I also think that being you know up on the trade block during the season help me prepare mentally for okay this is the real deal this might happen so once the season was done and I had the time to sit down and kind of digest it all then it felt like okay there’s a bigger chance that I’m not a boss and brewing in in the beginning of the training cap that it is so no having that in the back of my mind and realizing okay this is the god honest truth yes then you can start preparing yourself a bit mentally about it and not being you know taking you know uh being woken up in the middle of the night don’t know exactly what happening so that just uh uh was my mental approach to it all I know the answer is like that you’re a professional athlete but like how do you not partially check out during that like I I I just think of in the first round against uh Toronto where you were just still being where you were just still like locked in still an incredible teammate and yeah part of that is that Jeremy’s your guy but like for somebody who was in a kind of like stuck in the- Middle sort of situation you seemed at least from the outside like you were handling it well yeah no it’s it was a tough time in that sort of way and I’ve said it to multiple other media personalities as well that it’s one of the hardest things in professional hockey to to being being a goenda during you know a playoff run especially when you’ve had the um uh the tandem situation that we had throughout the season when you you know you’re sharing duties and then you you stop doing it so you just want the very best for your partner but at the same time you want to be the guy so you have to always differentiate and put your own pride aside and think think about what’s the most important thing at this time and uh for me that was a team that was a team success it didn’t matter what I felt in my heart or in my soul I could deal with those things off the ice that’s why I have a family and that’s why I can you know talk to them and I can talk to my other uh people that I feel very secure and that I can let my heart out and then deal with those emotions when it’s not game time so once actually game time comes around I can put all my effort in being a great teammate being a supportive teammate that tries to build a lot of energy and being you know a vocal guy which I’ve never really been in my career but I really try to put myself out there to be more vocal and help out the fellas now when I wasn’t playing and it took a little while for me to get used to it but it felt better and better the more uh the longer we went and also the fell Us in the room did have a lot of good things to say about that and they gave me some tips and some pointers of like what was good to say or what not just out of curiosity what was mentally what was easier being in season with the trade stuff around you or offseason because you know during the offseason it’s not really like a ro necessarily like a routine that can distract you and you can kind of just push through it I would assume so I’m just curious about that side from your end all season was easier okay a lot easier but also comes down that I this was during the season was my first time being on the trade block so I didn’t I didn’t know what to do with all my emotions and how to handle it even though that I spoke you know openly there was just so many things and so many uncertainties that I just couldn’t control and you you just want to have like a a clear-cut answer like once you’ve seen the rumors and people have asked you all the questions you’re basically saying to St like just give me an answer am I GNA stay or am I’m Gonna Leave just hit me with the with the truth now and just either get on with it or just let’s say tell me that I’m staying so living in that unknown was tough and then you’re looking at the schedule and I remember because I saw it and I realized okay this is probably my last game of the season as a Boston Brewing if I get traded uh right before deadline so the the feelings and the emotions that I felt during those times as well was tough because I wanted to win and I wanted to be you know leave as a winner uh from the Boston Bruins so when I played I don’t know which game it was I think it was the overtime loss against Edmonton that was my final game that I played before the trading deadline was actually set and I just remembered how utterly uh sad I was in my home afterwards when I realized that [ __ ] sorry my anguish but I was just devastated that I didn’t get to win my final game as a Brewin but then again I had the opportunity to stay throughout the season and get to be in the playoffs so I was very happy at that point and then it felt like no sunshine and rainbows once again when when the trading deadline was over [ __ ] dry saddle man he gets everybody that must have been uh a real pain uh correct me if I’m wrong correct us if we’re wrong they did come to you at some point during the season and did say that they had a a trade but what were the conversations like and what was the communication like from the Bruins throughout all of that because you don’t seem like a guy who is going to like Harbor much animosity or be much of a tough customer but also we’re we’re talking about your your life yeah basic yeah no there’s more things to it than you know what it’s easy to give people [ __ ] for uh having you know their no trade list in a certain way or they have certain teams on it and whatever people don’t know which teams we have on there and every player has their own reasoning for it so for me whenever people will give me uh crap about you know not going there or not going there I’m like okay but you have no idea what I’m dealing with on a personal level at home and with what what values I stand by and what is most important to me so it’s it’s how should I say it’s it’s easier now at this point obviously when I got traded to Ottawa because they weren’t even on my list I don’t even have to deal with you know all the questions about why why didn’t you wave your um no trade to this team or this one but you waved it for Ottawa that sort of thing so it’s I feel like okay this was a nice transition in and it’s going to be a good one getting to play in in all in one uh so a no trade clause I think that people often Overlook is a benefit and it’s a perk and it’s something that’s negotiated into a a contract and generally the give and take there is the term and the aav is different if there is or there isn’t one if you could do it all over again you signed for I believe four and 20 if you could have signed and gotten paid more money and not had that no trade clause would you have gone back and change anything or did you like having the no trade clause did that give you some element of control and peace of mind no I wouldn’t go back in time and change it not at all not a thing uh I stand by by my choices and I stand by what we came up with and I’m very happy we did that because like you said it is a privilege and it’s something that players before me have worked really hard to achieve together with the league and the PA and it’s none nun’s Business Like I said before but what’s on there and which teams so that’s for me my agent my family to decide and the like I said before the reasoning why some teams are on there some not there just my own and I’m not never going to share why uh but uh I think a lot of people in my uh how should I said in in in my position would appreciate a no move Clause than taking more money I think that’s just how I am obviously I think that stability and a sense of um easiness to know okay I’m going to be here I’m going to be here for a while there’s no stress and we can build you know take our time to build something great and don’t worry about leaving next year is a you know safety and on its own I don’t know if this was ever confirmed and if you don’t feel comfortable answering of course uh did you did you exercise yours uh well not what I know of um I didn’t have to take take a stand to anything during the summer at least uh and I had conversations with my with my agent and I told him okay we he asked me about the list and I said yeah I’m I’m stand by the list I like it it’s something that you and I came to agreed upon that this is the best one for us and at that point I didn’t have to you know there wasn’t any um hard discussions or negotiations or anything like that um which I’m I would say I’m grateful for because I think that would have been hard to you know say no to this team and say no to that team and whatever and then you can feel like okay they just want to get rid of me that sort of thing what have some of the conversations been like post trade both from the Boston end and the Ottawa end uh it’s been okay so if you go from from the Ottawa side uh I feel a lot of love h a lot of excitement a lot of Joy coming out from the Canadian from the Canadian side of the border which I’m very glad for because I feel the same way that this is a great opportunity to you know do something great uh with a young and and exciting team and then on the other hand it’s been H emotional in the s in the sense of that there’s been a lot of people that has reached out and you know thanking me for my services being a a bruan and how I was as a person and that and it speaks I I take a lot of pride in that I would say because uh when I left Buffalo there was basically none so now when I’m leaving Boston we’re sitting our producer Sean right here is shaking his head he was very he missed you quite a lot oh yeah there was there was the real ones that gave you know obviously sometimes when it comes to social media I don’t have it open at all time so there was definitely I can say there was definitely people that were saying that they were sad that that was seeing go but the sheer volume of people that has reached out at this point has been tremendous and I’ve read almost everything and I really uh you know I feel um how should I say it um overjoyed and happy and proud proud of how I’ve handled myself as a person in the Bruins organization and my time in Boston so that people actually feel not the need but they’re taking the time out their day to send these sweet messages and it really you know warms my heart to uh to read them so I would for whoever that seeing this um interview I I I do thank you so much from the bottom of my heart how long did it take for you to to write that Instagram post I it would have taken me like five months in a million different therapy sessions and just crying because it was great and you you articulated your feelings for Boston very well um I am a lot better of articulating myself through writing than I am uh speaking I feel that some most of the times when I’m speaking I lose my train of thought because I go One Direction and then I come this direction and then all of a sudden what am I talking about I’ve done it now during this interview as well it’s very relatable I was gonna say we we’ve been there relatable coming from somebody who has a podcast is bad news for us yeah so you know how it is so uh once I started writing I understand as well that when it comes to social media there’s only so many things that you can write that people will read and try to keep it crisp and short but also you know given something that’s interesting to read at all times that’s why I listed things in my career at least in Boston that I found was my favorite moments or at least some of my favorite moments there’s others that is for a whole different conversation but from as a team standpoint and all that and and once I started listing these things in my head and I started realizing yeah these are not none of my achievements these are more only the team’s achievements and I got to thank you know the organization and the team and my teammates for that because that’s how I generally feel that these moments were so so fun to uh be a a part of that they overshadow all my own uh personal achievements my favorite Lena sark’s story and it’s uh a very selfish story was I was in the North End watching the Buffalo Bills with some friends and you came into the restaurant and you said hey I’m early to meet some friends um and uh I I’ve got about 15 minutes to kill and you sat down you watched uh some uh some Buffalo Bills football with us I know you’re a fan of course and uh in 15 minutes your friends arrived and your friends were Jeremy Swan and his two parents and it was like in a way it was predictable but it was just the most beautiful thing in the world that like of course that is your evening and you were so happy when they walked in and in the time that you were waiting for your friends to arrive we talked a little about him being an allar and you were just so happy you were so proud you’d obviously been an Allstar the year before and like I don’t think I I’ve tried to bring this up in like TV hits and any sort of Media stuff like I don’t think people actually understand the swam and all Mark thing because there are teammates that are buddies and there are teammates that are best friends and it’s like the kind of work husband work wife work brother kind of thing but what what you two have is like really really special has that did that change at all this year like were there ever any Bittersweet moments where you’re like these are kind of the good old days they’ll end at some point but like let’s let’s make them count no ER I did not feel any sort of uh of those feelings because in my mind at least if I start worrying about the future um and you know regret the past I’ll I’ll forget the present that sort of thing so deep by the way I’ve seen that quote before and I’m so happy I nailed it there yeah nice that’s incredible though that’s awes yeah it’s a great it’s a great quote it is because it really goes to show how I want to live my life and for people that has kids um one thing that I relate a lot to as well this Hakuna Matata it’s means no wor it it literally it truly does it it do mean no worries as the kids say so that’s the thing H No Cap as the young fellas was say no one in the same answer has said auna Matata and no cap before also the great quote from your last appearance with us was when you were talking about your various playlists and you said I have one called nothing for [ __ ] the takeaway from this one is Hakuna Matata No Cap as the kid say but like so like how are you and Jeremy now like I I Dare I ask what the conversation was like after the move went down a lot of Tears um I remember I I gave him the call as soon as I talked to the GMS and my agent I called him right away uh and uh I was shaking I was literally shaking and trying to get the worst to come out in in a sense of that I’m in control without you know um crying or so and making it hard because obviously it’s when you’re calling someone it’s you want to be understand or you want them to understand you uh and and solving at that point it’s going to be hard because you know I’m English is my second language but um it was a feeling of emptiness as well in a sense of okay this is it this is the end of what we’ve built throughout these three years U and but afterwards once I’ve you know hugged my wife and and you know let let all the feelings kind of subside like a wave that’s coming crashing against the uh Beach that it’s an end of one thing but it’s a start to another which is also a beautiful thing in itself and I know that and this is actually something that I quote um s from is that he said it doesn’t matter if we’re two miles apart or if we are 20,000 miles apart we’re still going to be brothers for life and I that really speaks volumes to me and my family and he’s always going to be uncle sway to the kids he’s always going to be in my mind my little brother and you know my wife will always adore him you know for the person that he is and feel that he is you know uncle’s way or whatever in in her life as well yeah I was going to ask I know it’s probably hard to forecast but like what do you envision that relationship being like not only like this year but years down the road for you guys because obviously there’s a special bond there yeah no I’m still gonna bring him cinnamon buns for my games against him so I’ll keep him well fed uh for the F buns and then hopefully they’re spread out in a way that I can give him different ones at different times but it it really feels that it is for forever in a way of that how we are as as people and persons that it doesn’t matter that yeah we might drift apart but there’s always going to be a connection that will pull us together again and if that is in in 10 years or 15 or 50 years it doesn’t matter I know that I can always look back at this point as one of the best moments or times in my life and I have this wonderful person that came with this decision to move to Boston you said that you’re not bringing hugs to Ottawa good luck to Jeremy if he keeps it going in Boston he will lose a lot of fans but like what’s that going to be like being in a a new tandem uh I don’t know if you guys knew but I was a tandem with Anton back in juniors and our start of our professional career so I’ve known Anton uh all my life almost because he’s one year older so we’ve he was always the guy that I looked up to and that I the guy that I was always chasing and wanted to be in his shoes and being you know the guy to outperform him so it’s cool in a way that we now get to experience being uh a tandem in the National Hockey League and look back at okay yeah 10 years ago when we once we started our professional careers overseas this was us and this is us now so it’s pretty cool to look back at it but don’t you worry that that you’ve uh you’ve uh played too well you’ve won too many vzas that now you go from and this isn’t a a shot it Anton of course but like your workload I imagine will increase from what it was in in Boston where like last year it was virtually a 5050 split this now you have Ottawa trading for a vzna winner who’s still in his prime are you ready to perhaps play more maybe than you ever have yeah I mean I played a lot of games during my years in the minor so I know how tough it can be I mean at that point as well we play three and three so the workload in itself it’s yeah it is taxing in some ways but it’s easier in other ways where the mental part of it is probably the easier ones where you’re just going per automatic you’re doing everything that you’ve always done you don’t have to think about it there’s no fine-tuning that needs to know you need don’t need to as I try to explain to a lot of people is that you don’t have to rev up the engine every game you’re just keeping it in in in fourth gear and just Cruise along and you keep playing your game and then one when you need to rev it up you do and when you have to you know um H gear shift down you do that so in that sense I’m looking forward to it h and I’ve like I said I’m 31 years old now and feel like why why or not why this is a a perfect opportunity to play a lot of games because I’ve built up this um all my experiences that I can utilize into my game and know how to be successful and also play a lot more games with without feeling too that it’s too taxing and in that way that’s why I say it’s easier to play more games because it’s everything that you go through is happens automatically instead of you having to always rev up the engine when you’re sitting off the a couple games here and there how much are you uh you seem like a pretty competitive person how much are you relishing the opportunity to go to a place where last year was a bit disappointing for them and they could use somebody of your caliber and uh you’re going to be playing more games presumably and and uh looking for that next contract so this is there’s a lot of opportunity in front of you yeah but what an opportunity it is you know it it’s so you know this is what we Str for to at least in my mind there’s obviously going to be the way that you always want to win you know but there’s also things along the way for me at least is and that is uh that I want to get to a place and once I leave it’s a better place that sort of thing and that’s why I’m grateful for my time in Boston because I felt personally I came in and I left as a better better person as a better human being H but also as a better goenda to his final year things got better and our culture and other things got better as well you say that that you you got uh better over the course of your time in Boston granted we only met you like kind of late in your time in Boston and you were perfect at that point anyway but uh what was it about Boston so are you my friend oh man it’s stuff like that I mean you shared your favorite Lena soulmark story earlier yeah uh mine was when we first met in Nashville it was right after you won the vzna you came up to me and you said buddy I love you but that came after you said huh you seem taller on Twitter and like it was my basically my favorite interaction but like legit legitimately genuinely speak for all Bruins fans we [ __ ] love you and uh very very thankful for your time here and I know like all of us are heartbroken that this happened and so genuinely I do feel like you’re leaving this place better and we’re all like lucky to have gotten to watch you play and for some of us to get to know you thanks guys that really means a lot to me um it really does and you know what um I must I might just throw it out there on Loop now because it’s not just obviously about me what I think is cool when you’re speaking about you know stories is that you don’t know everything about a person so I gotta give you credit Pete for going you know uh public with your mental uh stuff that is immensely strong it’s in incredibly uh I would say I’m very I wouldn’t say uh as a parent but I would say as a as a friend that doing so and going publicly on Twitter which to be fair people are jerks people don’t have any feelings on on Twitter and I will never call it X um that was great that is awesome that you go out there and say those things because there’s a lot of people in this world that needs to hear that and I try to Advocate that as well about mental health awareness and and especially for men and I know how much I feel better speaking about my emotions and how I feel at all times and my wife has helped me uh a lot with that together with therapists in uh that I’ve talked through through my career and I really do feel like a lot of people in this life needs to speak to a therapist I think that there’s comes a lot more good things than bad things so thank you for sharing I really appreciate you doing that I appreciate you too buddy I love you seriously you’re the best thanks guys I love you too thanks just thanks for being so awesome to Pete so awesome to us for putting up with us uh we obviously love talking to you and it’s been a pleasure watching you we have I’ll tell you what we have a lot of jerseys on our set Ottawa sander is one of the few teams we don’t have uh would you recommend any players that we get I kid we get Alina Sark I also you gota go you gotta go full on Suite on that one you got I mean Daniel afferson what a guy what a person what a personality so I think that kind of speaks for itself but if I mean if we’re gonna go for someone other than me I mean primary sick uh sneaky one uh Jason Spa oh Legend so good what about uh Ridley Greg he took a slap shot into an empty net and everyone got real mad at him that was super cool yeah most of the time most of the things there yeah that was I think it was the leaves right it sure was Morgan Riley got suspended it was hilarious yeah no that was that was that was a whole different situation yeah I don’t know really to I don’t want to come I don’t want to comment anything on that one because I wasn’t there uh before we let you go last thing uh you know I’m a I’m a jersey guy and uh a gear guy we talked about it before this past season I need need you to let me know when it when it happens I I know you’re settling and and getting everything ready but when you get your gear for the sends I need to see it R please send me the gear because you you [ __ ] kill kill the gear game so let me know drop the P I’m getting I’m I’m getting more and more boring when it comes to those things I said that to the other guys that it was on the show and I have to do a little bit more digging a little bit more um see what about the history about the all and look at other goalies and and I’m probably going to stick with my design that I have right now but being making more Ottawa obviously but then you know I don’t know do you guys have any um uh ever thought about deigning a goalie mask this is your time to shine because there there needs to be one there needs to be at least two but I’m taking one for myself I think leim in Ottawa had like the Martian just jacked that he’s been retired long enough no one’s going to remember that put the uh put a a dog on a flaming Zamboni somewhere on your mask because that’s our logo and that is a cool ass logo you ever considered I’m not I’m not a strange to that one because I’ve had my corgis on there now but now I only have one so yeah is if I put uh put Bob on a samboni that’s on fire with a little bit of a senator’s hat or or helmet I can work we can talk to our guys who designed this and I mean it would go it would be great for business I’ll tell you last time you were on with us you mentioned that or you wearing a hat that said blle and people loved that [ __ ] that interview blew up and all the comments were like hell yeah lenus has good taste and music and we were like the questions were nice though no just all about that so respect wearing that hat to dominate this interview and have that be the only takeaway this time around yeah I should have had something else and just put it right here in front of it and you you don’t have to see my face amazing all right dude thanks so much really really appreciate you hopping on with us again we love you and we’ll continue to love you best of luck in Ottawa man thanks guys really like I said really appreciate you having me on here I have been freaked out by the swear in the background there when the Emojis have been coming on some time to time it is what it is it’s pretty cool but I like I said I really appreciate what you guys do keep doing what you’re doing you guys rock and I’ll see you down the road awesome thanks [Music] man we all sitting like the mayor

Former Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark joins the show to discuss being traded to the Ottawa Senators and what the process was like for him and his family. He also discusses his relationship with Jeremy Swayman and the city of Boston.

Join DJ Bean and Pete Blackburn for all that and more on another episode of What Chaos! presented by the ALLCITY Network!

JOIN OUR DISCORD: https://discord.gg/3brHQ2q5V2

0:00 Intro
5:55 Dealing with trade uncertainty
13:00 Emotional fallout of Senators trade
22:05 Bond with Jeremy Swayman
26:00 Embracing new opportunity in Ottawa

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