In the aftermath of Tuukka Rask signing a one-year deal with the Bruins on Tuesday evening, Don Sweeney spoke with the media via Zoom on a number of topics, be it Rask’s status moving forward, Jeremy Swayman’s current situation and potential free-agent moves.
Here are a few takeaways from Sweeney’s presser — headlined by Swayman’s assignment down to Providence:
Yes, based on everything we’ve heard from both Bruce Cassidy and Don Sweeney over the last few months — it sure seems like Tuukka Rask returning to the Bruins’ net was always part of the plan for Boston this season (barring a setback in Rask’s recovery from hip surgery).
Considering that Cassidy himself set down the parameters of Rask’s potential return to both Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman before the regular season even started, Tuesday’s news shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise to anyone.
But even if Swayman knew that Rask’s return was all but guaranteed as soon he made it back on the ice, that doesn’t make the young goalie's demotion to Providence any easier of a pill to swallow.
"Disappointed — not overly surprised, based on what was trending and how it was tracking for Tuukka's health and potential availability. … But Jeremy took it in stride as a professional,” Sweeney said of his discussion with Swayman on Tuesday. “He's extremely motivated to be a topflight goaltender, which we believe in.
“He knows that and the commitment we made to him. Part of it was this summer and trading a good young goaltender in Dan Vladar and allowing Jeremy to play — even Opening Night for that matter. And he knows he's a big part of our current team, as well as moving forward. Most importantly, he's got a hell of a long career in front of him as a Boston Bruin."
All things considered, I haven’t seen too many Bruins fans bemoaning Rask’s return — at least as it pertains to Rask’s own value. Best-case scenario? You’ve got a top-10 netminder added to the mix. And signed for dirt cheap, no less.
Most of the consternation falls more in line with the domino effect on the roster with Rask back in the fold — namely, Swayman getting sent down to Providence.
And granted, it IS an unfortunate situation for Swayman, especially given his very impressive returns up in the NHL ranks so far in his young career (8-6-2, .918 save percentage this season).
So why then is the 23-year-old netminder going to be spending some time down in Providence?
The simple answer is that it was the only realistic option in an admittedly tangled-up situation — one that the Bruins did weave themselves by inking Ullmark to a four-year, $20-million this summer.
As much as people wanted the B’s to roll with a rookie tandem of Swayman and Vladar (he of a .869 save percentage since that shutout win over Boston) to open this season, that was never going to happen for the Bruins, not in what could be Patrice Bergeron’s final season.
Of course, the Bruins could have signed another stopgap, veteran netminder to a one-year deal to serve as a placeholder next to Swayman until Rask returned — which likely would have satisfied the many Bruins fans that are steaming right now.
For most individuals in that disgruntled grouping, it’s Ullmark that is serving as the fly in the ointment when it comes to Boston’s goalie situation — especially considering that the B’s can’t just ship him out to a team like Edmonton without his blessing thanks to a no-movement clause.
As such, with Ullmark entrenched with that NMC and Swayman exempt from waivers if sent down to the AHL, it made for a pretty easy decision for Sweeney and Co.
Now, in terms of a pure production standpoint, it’s no question that Swayman has been very, very solid this season. But Ullmark has been better — ESPECIALLY when you actually factor in the matchups that he’s been handed.
Even with some of the highs that Swayman has put forth this season (a 42-save shutout against Nashville, for example), it’s okay to note that the rookie has also had a far easier workload to navigate through over these last three months.
And when matched up against opponents that are currently in the playoff picture, Swayman has been mortal — going 1-5-1 with a .903 save percentage.
As for Ullmark? He’s 4-2-0 against playoff opponents this season with a .919 save percentage — including a pair of wins against the Lightning and Capitals over a three-day span.
Now, had we reached this point in the season and Swayman was still sitting at a .918 save percentage and Ullmark was at ... .908 or something far below expectations? Then the Bruins would really have a conundrum on their hands. But with Ullmark now in a 6-1-0 stretch (.923 save percentage) since the start of December, there was no way that Swayman was going to leapfrog him on the depth chart.
Is it to be expected for a rookie like Swayman to take his lumps when matched up against top-flight opponents? Yes, of course. And if he was on a rebuilding or middle-tier club, he’d likely be handed 60+ starts to take those lumps and sort through it.
But on this Bruins team that’s trying to make the most of what could be the final years of the Bergeron Era, now was not going to be the time for Swayman to get those reps — not with Rask back in the fold for what could be the last hurrah for him as well (more on that in a bit).
And even though Swayman is absolutely justified in expressing disappointment in Tuesday’s news (who wouldn’t be?), the notion that said demotion is destined to torpedo his confidence or prompt him to toss up a white flag seems awfully weak to me.
After all, save for the very best netminders, zig-zagging between the AHL and NHL for the first year or two of your pro career is pretty much a guaranteed step in a goalie’s development.
Look at Rask as Exhibit A — the same guy who logged 128 games down in Providence before finally carving out a spot on an NHL roster.
Between 2007 and 2009, Rask was sent down to Providence 10 (!) times, including once just two days after posting a 35-save shutout against the Rangers as a 21-year-old, blue-chip prospect.
It’s a tough break for Swayman to get sent down to Providence in the short term, but if his path to the NHL features a much less hectic roller coaster ride of …
- Nine total games in Providence in 2020-21.
- 10 games played with Boston that same season as a true rookie.
- An Opening-Night nod and 16 NHL starts in 2021-22.
- 3+ months split between the AHL/NHL to round out the year.
… I don’t know, sounds like a pretty solid path, especially if a starting gig with Ullmark could be back in play in 2022 and beyond if Rask is indeed one and done.
And as I noted above, there’s still a pretty solid chance that Swayman will get some reps along the way to close out this season — especially when factoring in the frantic sprint to the end of the regular season that the Bruins find themselves in.
"We've got an incredibly busy stretch coming up,” Sweeney noted. “Not just pre All-Star (break), but I think coming out of the All-Star, the likelihood is we'll probably have to find some games to make up and we're gonna have a busy stretch.
“So as I told Jeremy today and I tell the other goalies, with what we're trying to navigate — having a very deep (depth chart) in that position is probably going to be important for us and we may have to tap into it.”
It’s totally fine to be bummed that a rookie with promise like Swayman is set to be the odd man out in the short term. (“short term” should be the focus there).
But considering the likelihood that all three netminders will have to pull on the same rope in some fashion to get the Bruins through the end of the regular season, I wouldn’t fret.
A temporary setback for a talented young goalie? Sure. But don’t expect Swayman to just sit and toil away down in Providence for the remainder of this year, even if both Rask/Ullmark are as advertised.
“I think the single biggest thing that came out of my conversation today was he just stared at me and looked and he said, 'Well, if those two guys struggle, do I get the net?' And that's what you want to hear from a player and any young player that has confidence in himself,” Sweeney said, adding: “But in a competitive environment that we're trying to win, the best players are gonna play and I don't think Linus and Tuukka would look at it any differently.
“And so hopefully it's just a bump in the road for him. It's not a huge setback. It's just a matter of going and gaining some experience in some situations (and) he's got some areas of his game we would like him to continue to work on. He's going to be a goalie for us for a long time. And that's ultimately what the message was.”
OTHER TAKEAWAYS FROM SWEENEY’S PRESSER
Rask not starting on Wednesday
Even though a home bout against the cellar-dwelling Canadiens on Wednesday would seem to be the easiest way to ingratiate Rask to NHL competition once again, it looks like Boston is going to give him at least another day to get caught up before giving him the green light for game action.
“Linus is starting (Wednesday),” Sweeney said. “We'll just go from there. Tuukka we'll be here, starting the process of getting in the flow of game day and he'll back up tomorrow night and we'll go from there.”
If the Flyers (who are dealing with a few COVID issues) do make the trip up to Boston for Thursday night, they stand as another logical foe for Rask to match up against. Not only is Philly currently struggling in the standings (13-15-7), but Rask has had their number for years now — posting a record of 19-2-4 against the Flyers in his career with a .927 save percentage.
Rask’s bargain deal bails Bruins out of cap crunch
Rask’s decision to sign for a team-friendly $1 million cap hit (prorated to just $545,000 in actual salary) is more than just the longtime goalie making good on his word from back in the summer. It was also a necessity, given Boston’s current cap situation.
While the Bruins needed to swap Rask and Swayman on the NHL roster to make the money work, Rask’s dirt-cheap contract ensured that sending Swayman down to Providence would be the only roster maneuver necessary to keep Boston cap compliant.
Rather than pulling off a desperate deal like trading Jake DeBrusk for minimal returns (more just to get his cap hit off the books), the Bruins still have some leeway to work with thanks to Rask not accounting for, say, a $2.5 - $3 million cap hit.
"They're not blind to the salary cap challenges we all face,” Sweeney said of Rask and his agent, Markus Lehto. “And so I appreciate them working with us in that regard. It really doesn't change other than strengthen the depth of our team and hopefully puts us in a really strong position organizationally without necessarily changing the cap dynamic.
“And you realize that we were probably $60,000 within the cap the other night to field our lineup, so it's not going to change going forward. We've got 17 or 18 teams that are on LTIR. Teams go along and hover on it. So as I said, Tuukka and Markus deserve an awful lot of credit in that regard."
As for Rask’s future?
Yes, the Bruins have a good problem right now in terms of a loaded goalie depth chart with Rask/Ullmark/Swayman. But what happens next year?
Sweeney, as expected, didn’t take the bait when it came to projecting what the future holds for Rask — who has also been vague on what his plans are for 2022 and beyond.
"To be honest with you, I'm not really looking that far ahead,” Sweeney said. “I'm focused on where our team is at and strengthening any position we can. Exploring opportunities to be the best team we're capable of being.
“We've shown some good signs coming out of the break and having our depth be put together. ... But looking beyond this year with Rask and elsewhere is not where my focus is. (I'm) excited that Tuukka is getting an opportunity to play because he's a hell of a goaltender and deepens our position that, with the number of games you have coming up, I think we're going to need."
Teams doing “due diligence” on Evander Kane
We’ve already stated our opinion on Evander Kane and why the Bruins should steer clear of the troubled winger — even with his evident talent and cheap, cheap price tag.
But based on all the attention that Kane is reportedly receiving from several Cup contenders, it sure seems like plenty of teams are willing to give players a second chance (more like seventh or eighth, in Kane’s case) if the price is right.
While Sweeney did not confirm or deny either way if the Bruins were interested in the UFA winger, he did note that Kane fielding plenty of offers already is far from a surprise — even with said baggage.
"I think everybody — all 32 teams would do their due diligence as to where they stand on any particular player and second chances and how they fit into the culture,” Sweeney said. “And we're no different in that regard.
“Obviously, some of those things are at the ownership level and trickling down and present what we think you're trying to improve with your team. And every player is different. But I think we all have to do what's right for the organization and make a decision moving forward. And I don't think general managers are doing their job if we don't investigate every opportunity."
Update on Nick Foligno
Outside of the B’s goalie situation, Sweeney did have some encouraging news to report on Nick Foligno, who appeared to suffer a serious lower-body injury during Saturday’s road win over the Lightning.
While the optics of Foligno’s fall didn’t look too good, Sweeney offered some optimism that the injury won’t sideline the veteran winger for a major stretch.
“We're waiting for the MRI results to come back and the doctor has to give us the update,” Sweeney said. “He was walking around and doing stuff this morning as well. So hopefully we're on the shorter side of the injury.”