Bruins GM Don Sweeney Emphasizes Jaroslav Halak's Importance To Team

Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney spoke to the media Saturday morning as the team awaits its Stanley Cup Final opponent.

The General Manager of the Year candidate discussed a number of topics, one of which was Boston’s luxurious goaltending situation, with Jaroslav Halak backing up Tuukka Rask. The 34-year-old went 22-11 with a 2.34 goals-against average in his first season with the B’s.

Head coach Bruce Cassidy touched on Halak’s importance to the team’s success earlier this week, and Sweeney only added to those rave reviews Saturday, saying that Halak is a big reason why Rask has been so successful during this playoff run.

“Well, I did reference I think that Tuukka was one of the first to acknowledge how important (Halak) was,” Sweeney said, via a team provided transcript. “He even referenced at the end of the Game 4 (win over the Carolina Hurricanes) he steered a puck his way in hope that he would be able to come on and be able to share the moment with him, specifically. That says a lot about the dynamic of those two and the respect they have for each other. We were very respectful of the position itself, knowing that we needed to find a balance. Didn’t have any exact number, we had mapped out the starts throughout the course of the year. Aside from the injuries, didn’t pivot from it, didn’t deviate from it. Again, a testament to how both players were playing, coaches’ convictions. So, it’s been part of our plan, and it’s worked out. And I think Tuukka’s benefitted from it, and hopefully our team does. We’re in the Stanley Cup Finals because we’ve had two good goaltenders.

“I think the biggest change in terms of the context of the 82-game schedule and how we balanced the goaltending is Tuukka’s taken the ball and obviously played very well and our team has benefited greatly from that,” Sweeney added. “He’s the first person to point out and recognize that Jaro (Halak) has been a really big factor. He hasn’t necessarily shared the net the way he did in the regular season, but I think our whole organization recognizes that he’s been a huge part of our success to be here.”

It’s nice to see a team’s backup goaltender receive so much credit ahead of a Stanley Cup Final appearance, but this isn’t a charity case. Halak was vital to this team’s success, and Rask’s performance as of late is a prime example of that.