Senators, Brady Tkachuk offer fiery response to internet rumor about Linus Ullmark's absence

It's been a frustrating season on the ice for the Ottawa Senators, and now the team is dealing with controversy off of it. After an unsubstantiated online rumor about goaltender Linus Ullmark's leave of absence went viral, the team issued a strong statement, and captain Brady Tkachuk railed against those who gave it life.

On Dec. 28, the Senators announced that Ullmark was taking a leave of absence for personal reasons. On Thursday, a salacious and unfounded rumor about Ullmark's absence made its way around social media. The rumor gained enough traction that Senators general manager Steve Staios released a scathing statement in which he called out "the lowest forms of trolls and sick people" for propagating it.

"Our organization was extremely disappointed to read the completely fabricated and false stories that are spreading around social media about our hockey club. Linus is away from our team for personal reasons and he has the entire organization's support. We asked that people respect his privacy, but clearly that request was not heard by the lowest forms of trolls and sick people who scour the internet. We are disgusted that outside forces are attempting to disrupt our hockey club. This statement will put an end to the ridiculous speculation that has spread online."

Following practice on Saturday morning, ahead of the Senators' game against the Florida Panthers, Tkachuk was asked about the rumor. The Ottawa captain provided a fiery response.

"I'm not gonna lie to you. It's pretty f---ing bullshit," Tkachuk said. "I don't think anybody is pretty happy about a narrative being spread like that. I think it's OK to critique our on-ice performance, but when it gets into family, it's pretty f---ing bullshit. It's pretty embarrassing it got to the point that it did. I can tell you for free, I'm not happy about it."

The Senators will have to do their best to tune out any distraction this has caused because they need two points in a pivotal game against the Panthers. Hours after Staios released his statement on Thursday, Ottawa was on the wrong end of a lopsided 8-2 score against the Colorado Avalanche for its third consecutive loss.