On Wednesday, Tuukka Rask made it official, retiring from the National Hockey League after a 15-year career, all spent with the Bruins.
“Through all the ups and downs, I am so grateful for all the support this team and the people of Boston have given me,… Rask said in a released statement. “I will miss everything that comes with representing the Boston Bruins.…
Rask appeared in just four games this season, returning in January after off-season hip surgery delayed the start to his season.
“Over these last few weeks, I’ve realized that my body is not responding the way it needs to for me to play at the level I expect of myself and that my teammates and Bruins fans deserve,… said Rask. “Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that I announce my retirement from the game of hockey.…
Rask leaves the Bruins as the franchise’s all-time wins leader with 308. His .921 career save percentage only trails Dominik Hasek and Ken Dryden on the NHL’s all-time list.
Depending on who you ask, Rask’s legacy as a Bruin could be defined in many ways. To me, Rask is the best Bruins goalie I have seen—sorry Tim Thomas.
Of course, the biggest knock on Rask will always be the fact that he never won a Stanley Cup as a starting goalie. Rask was Thomas’ backup when the Bruins captured the Stanley Cup in 2011.
People will often point to Game 6 against Chicago in 2013 or Game 7 against St Louis in 2019, blaming Rask for those difficult losses. Foolish in my opinion, especially in the St. Louis series where you star-studded top line was non-existent when it mattered most.
But that’s a story for another day.
We could sit here for days and hammer out the Tuukka Rask debate, we’ve done it year-after-year and at times, game-after-game.
Regardless of how you truly feel about Rask, and his abilities on and off the ice, the Bruins, as they stand today, are not a better team without Rask. And I am talking about the normal, relatively healthy Rask, not the one we’ve seen struggle to make saves he’s routinely made throughout his career.
Unfortunately for Rask, he’s now at a position where his body no longer will allow to perform at the top-notch level, he’s been at for most of his career.
Father time strikes again.
On top of the loss of Rask, as expected, Brad Marchand was suspended on Wednesday, issued a six-game suspension, the longest of his career.
Marchand was suspended for three games in November for slew-footing Vancouver’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Beginning Thursday, Marchand will miss games against Carolina, Ottawa, the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Ottawa again and the Colorado Avalanche.