Tuukka Rask’s Return to Boston
Written by: Elizabeth Wilson
Boston is no stranger to Finnish goal-tender, Tuukka Rask. Drafted 21st overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2005, Rask played his way through the minors and into Boston where he would stay from 2007-2022. Over the course of his 15 years in Boston, Rask accumulated 562 games played and 307 wins.
After his most recent injury, Rask had to undergo surgery at the end of the 2020-2021 season. This would end up being Rask’s first extensive absence from Boston, also just in time for the end of his contract, making him a free agent going into the 2021-2022 season.
Taking into consideration Tuukka’s injury and status as a free agent, he came off the roster and Jeremy Swayman (23) and Linus Ullmark (28) became the permanent goalies. As the Swayman-Ullmark tandem unfolded, many Boston fans questioned Rask’s return to the team and looked to general manager and former Boston Bruin, Don Sweeney, for answers. Sweeney’s opinion on the accomplishments of Ullmark and Swayman seemed to ultimately differ from the fans' opinions.
When asked about the Boston goalie situation he responded, “They’ve been OK. We’ve got some growing pains associated with that position.” As of November 2021, Sweeney did not seem to have a definite answer on the status of Rask but had a “general understanding” and believed it would not be difficult to come to common ground with Tuukka about his potential return. Sweeney seemed to have no worry about the 34-year-old’s return to the team when he said, “If he’s healthy and wants to play, he’s likely to be here.”
This year, Tuukka Rask played just a few games with the Providence Bruins before signing a one year, 1M dollar contract. After Tuukka’s first game back with Boston on January 13th against the Flyers, Boston pulled off a win of 3-2. The goalies next game however, did not have as joyous of an outcome with a loss of 7-1 against the Carolina Hurricanes. In just the first period, Rask let in five goals, to then be pulled for the rest of the game. Linus Ullmark took his place and only let in two goals for the rest of the game, none in the second, and two in the third.
As we begin to look at Rask’s recent statistics, some begin to question if his game is still what it once was. Looking back from 2007 to 2022, there are many aspects of data and statistics to look at when it comes to determining the skill of Tuukka Rask.
Before diving into Rask’s personal statistics, we can look at the league average for comparison. The NHL average save percentage is .910, which Tuukka fell above 13/15 seasons of his career.
Between the years 2013 to 2017, Rask was playing about the same amount of games each season. While the games he played remained just about consistent, a decline is apparent in his SV%, going from .930 to .915. Between those four years, Rask faced an average of 1779 shots and let in an average 141 of those.
When looking at the data, keep in mind that data and statistics involving sports, is all relative to games played, shots faced, and skill of the others on their team and the teams played against. While you cannot measure one's skill one-hundred percent based on statistics, it makes you question if Tuukka is going to continue to benefit Boston as he once did.
Besides current captain Patrice Bergeron, Tuukka Rask has been with the Boston Bruins the longest. The two of them have seen many players, coaches and staff come and go, which directly affected the playing style of the team. We need to give Rask credit where it is due, constant adaptation is not an obstacle to overcome with ease.
Every player will have their flaws no doubt, but based on what we know about Tuukka, we know that he is not a consistent player and he often chokes up during the playoffs, which both can cost this team. Just because there is a high level of comfort and familiarity of Rask with players, coaches, staff and even fans, was that all the reason to bring the veteran tendy back to the Bruins? Is Tuukka’s time up in Boston?