Tuukka Rask Can Keep Bruins Elite With His Future Contract Demands

Despite leading the Boston Bruins to the Stanley Cup final twice as their No. 1 goaltender, Tuukka Rask can’t shake the criticism from some small (but vocal) portions of the fan base that label him as something less than a clutch goalie.

Having starred for Boston long enough (he was in the midst of his 13^th season when the NHL season was paused by the coronavirus pandemic) to become the franchise’s leader in wins and games played, and having watched the New England Patriots and Boston Red Sox win championships in their respective sports over the course of his career, Rask knows what he’s signed up (and re-signed up) for during his decade-plus in Boston.

“It comes with the territory in a town like this … there’s always the fans out there that want you to win and succeed, but they have the right to criticize you,” Rask said from his Boston home during a video conference Monday. “And I’ve accepted the fact that my job is what it is. And sometimes people praise you, and sometimes they don’t.

“I just try to do my job as good as I can every night, give us a chance to win, and what comes with that, it comes.

“Obviously this city’s known to win championships and your success is measured by winning championships. I’ve gotten to the finals with the team twice as a playing goalie, didn’t win, but I think it’s still a great accomplishment to reach that point to go to the finals. Obviously it would be nice to be known as a champion from those years, but it didn’t happen and we just have to live with that.”

Winning the Stanley Cup would certainly shut up most of his most vehement detractors. The Bruins seemed well-positioned to do that when the NHL stopped playing with Boston atop the overall league standings. Regardless of whether he’ll get a chance to win the Cup this season or will have to wait until a 2020-21 campaign, Rask has another chance to endear himself to an even broader swath of the Bruins’ fan base.

Several times during the past couple months Rask has squashed rumors that spread at the outset of the NHL pause that he’s considering retiring at the expiration of his current contract, which ends next season when he’ll be 34. He again shot down those thoughts Monday, and instead brought up his expectations that when the offseason arrives he’ll talk contract extension with the Bruins.

That’s when Rask can become a hero again to the Bruins by going year to year with his deals.

Keeping a championship-caliber team together is difficult in the salary-cap era of the NHL. Several Bruins have taken hometown discounts rather than test free agency and Zdeno Chara has played on one-year contracts lush with performance bonuses the past two seasons. Rask’s backup Jaroslav Halak followed Chara’s lead in signing his extension for next season earlier in the NHL pause.

When Rask’s current contract ends he’ll have made $56 million over the eight years of the contract. Hopefully he’s tucked some away for a rainy day. While it’s well in his rights based on his career performance to expect to remain among the higher-paid goalies in the league, Rask could help the Bruins out. Sign a one- or two-year extension for a reasonable amount (say $4-5 million average annual value) and then do the one-year, over-35 contracts featuring bonuses that Chara and Halak have been taking if he decides to keep on trucking.

That’ll get Rask’s younger teammates paid fairly and guarantee the Bruins can remain an elite team without a drop-off. If the Bruins know Rask is willing to go this route, it could even help them keep Torey Krug rather than losing the unrestricted free agent defenseman this upcoming offseason.

Rask’s realistic view on the drive to keep playing for years or even another decade lend credence to the idea he might be best to go year by year with his contract commitments.

“You play as long as you can and your body feels healthy and you want to keep doing it. But whenever that drive kind of slows down, then you’ve got to rethink it, revisit it, say ‘hey is this something that I really want to do?’” he said. “So far I still have that passion of winning and playing and that drives me, the winning drives me,” he said. “So I haven’t put a number into it, at what age it might be. But we’ll see. Maybe it’s 36, 37, maybe it’s 42. [Chara’s] still playing and he’s getting old so maybe I’ll be the goalie that plays until 45. Maybe not.”

Tuukka Rask could retire today and go down as one of the top five goalies in Bruins history. A lot of great athletes have come and gone through Boston without winning a championship, in particular before the recent run on titles. He has nothing to be ashamed of and doesn’t owe the Bruins anything. If big money and/or longer-term are what he craves, he might get something pleasing from the Bruins or he might have to look elsewhere.

The best situation for Rask and the Bruins, the one that makes it possible to maintain a championship team in front of Rask and give him a chance to avoid finishing up on the list of best players to never win the Cup, is the one that sees Rask play for the Bruins on one-year contracts until his passion stops driving him.