For well north of a decade now, the Boston Bruins have had stability in net.
But there’s a nonzero chance that changes in the not-too-distant future.
Tuukka Rask’s contract runs through next season, at which point he’ll be 34-years-old. While he certainly would not get the same eight-year pact he landed with the Bruins years ago, he’s still playing at a Vezina level, and could land a nice contract to finish out his career.
But what if Rask is currently playing on the contract he plans to finish out his career on?
In a one-on-one interview with The Boston Globe’s Matt Porter, Rask indicated he’s not ruling out ending his hockey career after the 2020-21 campaign.
From Porter:
“When I asked Rask his expectation for his future workload, the conversation shifted.
‘I have one year left in the contract, so we’ll see if I even play,’ he replied.
Is that a real possibility?
‘We’ll see,’ he said. ‘Always a possibility.’
The Bruins have a few goaltending prospects hanging around in Dan Vladar, Kyle Keyser and Jeremy Swayman, the latter of whom is up for the Hobey Baker, just signed his pro contract and will forgo his senior season at Maine.
Developing goaltending prospects is challenging, so the Bruins are quite fortunate they’ve been in such a good position for so long. But time will tell if a young netminder emerges as Rask’s heir apparent.
