Why did the Senators take the time to respond to a fool?

You may have seen the situation in the last few hours.

An anonymous attention-seeking ti-clinic came out with a rumor explaining that Linus Ullmark was absent from the team because he had cheated on his wife… and, to defend himself, had named teammates who were doing the same thing.

Ullmark's wife was also rumored to have been talking to other players' wives, creating a wave of divorces in the locker room. The guy who started the rumor added that the captain was in trouble and that the players wanted the Ottawa goalie out.

There are a lot of situations like this on social networks. It happens every day, not least because the accounts can be anonymous.

So you have to take some and leave some.

But Steve Staios didn't choose to let this one go. He issued a statement yesterday saying that the Sens were disappointed to see the rumor, which he described as ridiculous speculation, making its way around the Internet.

He reiterated that the goalie is away for personal reasons and that Ullmark has the support of the organization. And finally, Staios called out the troll who invented a story to make himself interesting.

The question we have to ask ourselves is: why did he answer?

It's clear that the Ottawa folks who decided to respond to the auntie who posted this on social networks know that they're highlighting a comment made by a guy who had absolutely no credibility.

If the bosses felt the need to address the fans, it's because they felt something had to be done. This means that, regardless of the truth or otherwise of the rumor, it was doing damage in the locker room.

Otherwise, the press release wouldn't have been issued…

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The Senators, who hired a new goalie, got blown out yesterday against Colorado. Clearly, the guys must not have had their heads in hockey, if we're playing connect the dots.

Currently, the Sens are in last place in their division and 15th in the East.