Bruins Nation, a very important piece of the puzzle has fallen into place. Tuukka Rask has just agreed to stay with the Bruins. Rask signed a one year contract extention for three and a half million dollars. First thought, whew! We lost Timmy and losing Rask wuld have been a disaster.
Now, lets all take a look at Rask and the contract. Rask’s first year in the NHL(2009-10), #40 had a a 1.97 goals against average and a .931 save percentage; good enough to lead the league. This year, he had a 11-8-3 record. Tuukka’s .929 save percentage, and a 2.05 goals against were better than Tim Thomas. Tuukka netted three shutouts this season, including a 3-0 win against the Los Angeles Kings. (You know, those nice people who had as big a drought with the Cup as we did…We are coming back for it by the way.)
There is also the contract to consider. A one year deal. How cautious are the Bruins being? Are the testing Tuukka’s ability at being the starting goaltender? Rask has never been a starter before. The most games Tuukka has played in a single season is thirty nine (09-10). Are the Bruins taking a gamble? Tuukka will be a restricted free agent after his season, and a good year for Tuukka could mean another team throwing an obscene amount of cash at him to move out of Beantown.
How does Tuukka feel about it? I haven’t had the chance to ask him directly, but he did express his thought in January to ESPN Boston. “I haven’t really put a lot of thought into it, but he’s (Thomas) got a year left on his contract and mine is up obviously, but I want to stay here. I’m sure they’ve got a plan for that too and it will all work out good. I’m a young guy and I want to have a long future ahead of me as a Bruin and make more good things happen for the team and our fans.”
Well Bruins Nation, let’s set the clocks to Tuukka Standard Time. Now that the clock has been reset, lets see what kind of stopwatch he is.