Tuukka Rask is statistically the best goalie in the NHL right now, but he’s not even the No. 1 goalie on his own team.
No, that honor would belong to Vezina- and Conn Smythe-winning teammate Tim Thomas, who led the Bruins to a 6-1 win over the Devils on Wednesday night.
Rask is expected to get the start Thursday against the Calgary Flames, and he will bring the league’s best goals-against average and save percentage with him into the crease. He will also bring some level of uncertainty into the game, since Rask’s contract situation remains up in the air with the team.
But if it were up to him, Rask would stick around for a while.
“I want to stay here,” Rask told ESPN.com. “I’m sure they have 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.”
Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli is saying all the right things early on in the contract negotiation process, but with Thomas still on the books for $5 million next season and showing no signs of slowing down, the Bruins may have a tough decision looming this offseason. Will another team swoop in and offer Rask a monster contract to woo him away? Or will the young netminder find a way to stick around and play in Boston his entire career?
