The fact that goaltender
Tuukka Rask was going to get a hefty payday from the Boston Bruins has perhaps been about the worst kept secret in the city.
Mere moments after
Dave Bolland and the Chicago Blackhawks shocked the Bruins with two goals in 17 seconds in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals, and brought the Cup back to Chicago for the second time in four years, the talk of the town shifted on over to the Bruins’ restricted free agent netminder, and just how much money the Black-and-Gold were willing to shell out to keep him.
The immediate report out of Boston was that they’d seek an eight-year pact with the Finnish goaltender worth close to $60 million. And according to a league source, that’s exactly what’ll be finalized by the end of the day today.
A deal that’d give the 26-year-old Rask a $7 million cap-hit (at least) for the next eight years, putting him in the $7 million with fellow Finnish netminder
Pekka Rinne (Nashville Predators), it’s clear that Rask’s ‘elite contract’ is on the way on the heels of a breakout lockout-shortened 2013 campaign that saw him win 19 of 34 starts and post a .929 save percentage.
But where Rask undoubtedly made his (imminent) money came in the postseason, where he stoned opponents to at will, and held the high-flying Pittsburgh Penguins to just two goals in four games (a new franchise record) with a .985 save percentage, before coming just short of leading Boston to their second Cup in three years.
While figures and years weren’t discussed at Chiarelli’s last update on the situation (this past Sat. during the
Jarome Iginla press conference), the Bruins have been more than open in regards to their dialogue with Rask’s camp.
“We’re very close on both Tuukka and Bergy [Patrice Bergeron],” Chiarelli admitted, touching on Rask and the departure of Rask’s 2012-13 backup,
Anton Khudobin, who left for Carolina this past weekend with a one-year, $800,000 deal, adding, “The second part is part of this process was to free up some space. And part of that is, unfortunately, to get your backup at a lower number.”
Unable to match Carolina’s offer, the Bruins instead opted to sign
Chad Johnson, who spent last year with the Phoenix Coyotes, to a one-year (one-way), $600,000 contract.
“Chad Johnson was on our radar anyways, a player of interest over a period of time. But I had to do it quickly,” Chiarelli noted. “It wasn't about Anton not wanting to come back. It was about me getting a goalie, whoever it is at the end of the day, at a good number. So it was a timing thing.”
This contract would be the follow-up to a year that saw Rask make $3.5 million on a one-year deal signed to show the B’s upper management that he was capable of handling the starting job in place of two-time Vezina winner
Tim Thomas.
More to come.
Follow me on Twitter or become Facebook friends with the HockeyBuzz Bruins profile for links, interactions, and updates.
*********
KINDLE USERS: Please subscribe to Bruins Buzz; a one-stop feed for all things Bruins related on HockeyBuzz. For more information,
click here.
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • 
Join the Discussion:
»