Jaroslav Halak
Over the previous two seasons, Halak played a big part in the Bruins’ success, while also allowing Rask time to rest and be more ready for the playoffs. In 2019-20, Rask and Halak combined to win the William Jennings Award in the shortened 70-game season.
Last season in the Toronto bubble, Halak took over the main responsibilities when Rask left in the first round of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals to go home and tend to a family matter. After helping the Black and Gold finish off the Carolina Hurricanes, things got tougher and fell apart in the Semifinals against the Lightning, as Boston was bounced in five games.
In May of 2020, Halak signed a one-year deal to return in 2021 as Rask’s backup, but the success he had in the last two years didn’t translate to another good third year. When Rask went down with an injury in early March, Halak found himself on the sidelines too when he was shut down because of COVID-19.
Rask is also a free agent as mentioned above and if he re-signs, he will be out until January or February of 2022 because of surgery he’s going to have for a torn hip labrum. The Bruins could bring back Halak on another one-year deal to split time with either Jeremy Swayman or Dan Vladar, but that seems like a long shot.