You got to love the Boston media and their passive-aggressive relationship with the Boston Bruins.
On most days, they’re a great source of information for the fans. In the last few weeks though, it seems they’ve taken to a ‘dartboard approach’ when it comes to the Bruins. They throw a darts at the wall to see which player might be doing something/getting moved, and how it is a fantastic/horrible idea.
This time around, the Boston media has chosen to focus on Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask. Several of the big names have bandied about the idea that Don Sweeney is looking into offers to trade the 2014 Vezina Trophy winner. They talk about it like Rask is already being shipped out to another team.
The Boston Bruins are in no position to trade Tuukka Rask.
They will absolutely not move him away from the TD Garden this season. If any of the big media people say otherwise, they are either insane and/or are deliberately lying to you.
Here is why:
Lack of depth in goaltending.
For the last four seasons, the Boston Bruins employed a one-and-done. Anton Khudobin, Chad Johnson, Niklas Svedberg, and now Jonas Gustavsson all spent a season backing up Tuukka Rask, but none of them could stick around after that. The Bruins were hoping Malcolm Subban would be ready this year, but the bringing back of Khudobin tells us that they still don’t think Subban can be the number two in Boston.
Let’s take a quick look at the other candidates. Jeremy Smith would have been the next one in line, but he was picked up in free agency by the Colorado Avalanche. Zane McIntyre has spent the last seven years going to the Bruins development camp. He’ll likely be the number two in Providence this season, and isn’t ready for more than a handful of NHL games. This leaves Daniel Vladar, who came over from the USHL. It’s likely he won’t even make the Providence team this season.
It’s not what Sweeney wants.
Any sort of move that involves Tuukka Rask without getting a top-twenty goaltender in return would be a disastrous move for the Boston Bruins. It would signify that the Bruins saw no recourse but to pull a rebuild on the fans. This goes in the face of everything Don Sweeney has said in the last two seasons. Sweeney wants to tweak the team, not destroy it.
If it wasn’t for the Bruins last-minute collapse last year, they would have made the playoffs. Sweeney is closer to achieving his goal than some of the fans (and many of the Boston media) care to admit.
The Boston Bruins want less problems, not more.
The Boston Bruins will put together a solid collection of forwards next season. Led by Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Krejci, the Black and Gold will have a strong four lines. Bringing David Backes over in free agency will make the team stronger as well.
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The Bruins know their Achilles heel is the blueline. Dennis Seidenberg was so invisible last year the Bruins had to buy him out. Zdeno Chara is still the number one in Boston, but how many 30-minute games can they ask of a 39-year old player? While Torey Krug has certainly silenced a lot of his critics, other players haven’t.
Don Sweeney has so far been unable to find the right person to fix the blueline. That earned him the wrath of the fans. That wrath only intensified when he gave lottery-winning contracts to Kevan Miller and Adam McQuaid.
Right now, Don Sweeney needs to put out a few fires in the TD Garden. The last thing he’s going to do is pour gasoline on ice level and light a match.