In the immediate aftermath of Boston’s Game 6 loss to the Islanders on Wednesday night, Tuukka Rask opted to refrain from disclosing the status of the lingering injuries he’s dealt with for most of the 2021 season — noting that he didn’t want the news to stand as a “headline” that would overshadow Boston’s second-round exit.
Well, just a few days later, we all have our headline — and it’s going to cause major ramifications for the Bruins in 2021-22 and beyond.
Speaking to the media via Zoom on Friday morning, Rask revealed that he’s been playing with a torn hip labrum for the entire season — with the veteran netminder and pending UFA set to undergo surgery next month.
Rask, 34, expects that the recovery will take five to six months — which would put him in line for a return in January or February of 2022, depending on when he actually goes under the knife.
"Start the recovery process and then we'll see what the future holds after that," Rask said. "Hopefully the recovery goes well and I'll be ready to play hockey at some point next year…mentally, I'm up for (playing next year). The physical aspect, hopefully everything goes well, then we'll probably be looking at a January or February return to hockey. That's kind of the plan and hopefully it works out."
While Rask was sidelined midway through the 2021 season due to an upper-body injury, he noted that the first sign of hip issues occurred during the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, where he heard something pop while playing against the Carolina Hurricanes up in the Toronto bubble.
The injury degraded over time, while compensating for that injury eventually led to other complications – including his back seizing up. That back issue is what limited him to just one game from March 7 through April 15, including a stretch where he could barely walk for about a week.
"It just locks up on me every once in a while, and that's why you see me kind of limping out there," Rask said. "Obviously, it's not easy to play with a labral tear as a goalie, but like I said a couple days ago, I think our training staff did a great job maintaining it and keeping me out there."
And while it might be tough for some fans to get the bad taste of their mouth when it comes to Rask’s poor showing in the B’s Game 6 loss on Long Island, Boston’s No. 1 netminder still stood tall for most of the postseason despite trudging through those injuries — ending his latest Cup run with a .919 save percentage.
“To battle through what he went through, it speak volumes,” Brad Marchand said. “Those are things you don’t see behind the scenes. The respect they gain amongst their group is astronomical when you’re willing to put yourself through pain to compete for the team. Unfortunate we weren’t able to do it for him.”
Of course, going under the knife at this point in his career is far from ideal — especially given that his eight-year, $56-million contract with Boston is set to expire. But Rask reiterated that he wants to play in 2022 — and only for one team.
"I'm not going to play for anyone else than the Bruins. This is our home," Rask said. "We have three kids. The kids enjoy it here. They have friends in school. We have friends. At this point of my life and my career, I don't see any reason to go anywhere else, especially with the health I'm looking at now and a recovery time of five or six months. Hopefully it works out that I recover well and we can talk about contracts when the time is right for that."
While there was already going to be plenty of discourse this offseason when it came to Rask’s free-agent status and the future of Boston’s goaltending corps, this surgery and his extended time on the shelf does throw another wrench into the operation when it comes to just how Boston handles its situation in net next year.
BSJ Analysis
So, what exactly does Boston do next season with Rask out until at least January or February?
Well, it certainly seems like Jeremy Swayman is going to get a healthy amount of reps next season — with the stars aligning for the rookie netminder that dominated during a 10-game stretch during the regular season (.945 save percentage).
Now, the top question will be IF Boston wants to keep Rask in the fold and sign him to, say, a one-year contract this upcoming season.
All things considered, it sure seems like the Bruins have a TON of leverage now, given that Rask already said he doesn’t want to play elsewhere in the NHL. With Boston gifted with plenty of cap space (around $27 million, per CapFriendly), it’d be a major plus for Boston if they could retain Rask for significantly less than his previous annual cap hit of $7 million.
And with both David Krejci and Taylor Hall acknowledging that they’d also be willing to sign for below market value (more on that shortly), Boston could retain three key pieces of this club and still have plenty of cap space left over to shore up its bottom-six unit and D corps.
Of course, the most pressing issue then is what does Boston do from October-December if Rask is still on the mend and Swayman is the lone man in net for the B’s. As good as Swayman might be, there’s a LOOOOT of risk running with a goalie tandem of him and Dan Vladar next season, at least in the early going.
We touched on this a few months ago, but pairing Swayman with a stable veteran for at least the next few years is going to be key — giving Boston a safeguard in case Swayman takes a step back in the same vein as Carter Hart down in Philly.
Rask would be a great fit for the next few years as Swayman learns the ropes — with Rask noting that he plans on doing everything he can to help out Swayman and Vladar next season if he does indeed return to Boston.
"That's what I've been talking about with (Don Sweeney) and the coaching staff, too," Rask said. "I've played enough hockey. It's getting to the point where any way I can be helpful for these young guys, I want to do it. Who knows what the goaltending situation is going to look like when the season starts?
“I'm definitely up for helping out in any shape or form I can. I've been through it as a young guy. (The media) was praising me for the first few weeks, few months. A couple years later it might turn. That's why I'm here. When that happens to (Swayman), I can be helpful and tell him to block the media out."
Of course, Rask can help be a helpful mentor on and off the ice to Swayman and Vladar, but Boston is still going to need another veteran to potentially slot in for the first few months just in case things go south.
It’s a tough balancing act for the B’s — as they’d likely want Rask back in the fold, especially on a very agreeable contract. But what happens if both Swayman and {insert veteran pickup here} are both lights out and Rask is ready to return at the start of 2022?
Ultimately, that’s a good problem to have if you’re Bruce Cassidy — but there’s no avoiding that Rask’s injury is set to make an already controversial offseason topic even more fascinating when it comes to what the organization wants to do with their all-time winningest goalie.