If Tuukka Rask were to hang up his skates tomorrow, his résumé would be pretty impressive.
Of course, the Boston Bruins goaltender is missing one thing: helping his team to a Stanley Cup.
The B’s have been to the Stanley Cup Final twice with Rask starting between the pipes, but lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games in 2013 and against the St. Louis Blues in 2019 in Game 7.
Rask didn’t rule out retirement when his contract expires at the end of the 2021-22 season when he spoke one-on-one with The Boston Globe’s Matt Porter, adding it’s “always a possibility.”
One former Bruins goalie can relate. He understands the way Rask is thinking.
Byron Dafoe, who was Boston’s netminder from 1997-2002, called it a career when he was just 33 years old. Rask will be 34 once his contract expires. Dafoe joined WEEI’s “The Skate Podcast” and noted Rask needs to do “what’s right for him.”
“You got to look at your quality of life,” he told show hosts Ken Laird and Matt Kalman. “I mean Tuukka’s a third of the way there, so he’s got to look at what’s coming down the pipe and I can totally sympathize that if he’s looking that way, it’s unfortunate, but you just don’t know with concussions. I think there’s such an unknown about it and the only thing you’re kind of seeing is more and more negativity about long-term effects. So as a goaltender, playing in Boston, yeah everyone wants him to stay and for obvious reasons, he’s had an incredible career in Boston. It would be great if he keeps playing.
“But from a selfish standpoint from him, he’s got to look at his family and what’s right for him.”
Rask has a history of concussions, including one this past January.
Only time will tell what Rask’s future holds, and if he will be able to get the Stanley Cup monkey off his back.
