The conversation about Tuukka Rask isn’t going away.
This week, he appeared on WEEI for an interview and fueled speculation that the franchise’s all-time wins leader in both regular season and playoffs will eventually be back manning the crease for the Boston Bruins.
"For me, it's about that pride of playing for one team and one team only,” he told Greg Hill. “I have no reason to chase the money anymore and go somewhere else. It's going to be one of those things where the Bruins are my home, Boston is my home. I've always wanted to play here, wanted to stay here. So the money won't be an issue. We had a conversation with [Bruins general manager Don Sweeney] and I will be a cheap goalie for them."
How ‘cheap’ is anyone’s guess, but at age 34 and recovering from offseason hip surgery, his window of availability is still months away. While Rask set a timetable of late Dec./Jan. for being able to return to action, the reality is that given the nature of the position and the physical strain that playing the butterfly style put on the player’s hips, that early of return seems overly optimistic.
Eventually, Rask will be ready to make a return to the NHL if that’s what he desires. Given his most recent statements, it appears that Boston is the only option he will consider. That begs several questions. For starters, how much would it take to get him under the cap? If the team does eventually find itself in the position to bring him back, what does that mean for the current duo of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman?
Here is the background on the Ullmark decision and some thoughts on where Rask could fit into the picture down the road.
