Two Boston Bruins mainstays are set to hit the market this offseason.
The contracts for both Tuukka Rask and David Krejci are set to expire following this season. Rask, in particular, has expressed a desire to remain with the Bruins so long as he continues playing.
During a virtual press conference Tuesday, Bruins president Cam Neely revealed that the Bruins and the goalie had agreed to table talks until after this season.
“Both Tuukka and our camp said we would table everything for the season to see how things go and get a better sense after the season’s over for how Tuukka is feeling, both (mentally) and physically, and we’ll go from there,” Neely said.
That’s obviously unsurprising. If the Bruins and Rask wanted to get a deal done before the offseason, they would’ve done it before the playoffs. That there’s no deal yet isn’t a sign either way that he’s staying or going.
Where Krejci stands is a little more uncertain. The 35-year-old also is a career Bruin, and is just 38 regular-season games away from 1,000. From a storyline standpoint, Krejci re-signing with the Bruins, reaching the 1,000-game mark with Boston, and, down the road, riding off into the sunset with a Spoked B on his chest makes a lot of sense.
“I haven’t talked to (Krejci and Rask) myself personally about that, I kind of let the season go along and just let them focus on playing this year,” Neely said. “My guess is that they would. I think they both would probably like to finish their careers are Boston Bruins, so let’s see what happens this off season. But there’s something to be said about playing for one organization and right now, that’s what it’s looking like for both Tuukka and David.”
The focus right now, obviously, is the postseason, as the Bruins have a real shot at winning the Stanley Cup. The business stuff will all get handled in due course.
