BOSTON — Longtime Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask wanted Jeremy Swayman to know he could reach out despite the former not being in the building following his retirement from the NHL.
Rask, while speaking to reporters Thursday before taking part in a ceremonial puck drop, admitted part of the reason he decided to retire was because he felt it was unfair to take a roster spot from Swayman while he was not being able to go at 100%. Rask played four games during the 2021-22 season before he retired on Feb. 9.
Rask, who was complimentary of the young goaltender, then shared what he told Swayman after following through on his decision to hang up his skates after 15 years with the Bruins.
“Yeah, well he’s a great kid. He’s got a great head on his shoulders. Very talented,” Rask said before Boston’s 8-1 win. “So, you know, I was kind of looking forward to that, being a mentor on the ice. Obviously didn’t work out that way. But now when I’m like on the other side not playing anymore, we still have that connection. We communicate, and I try to help any way I can.
“I think mostly from me to him, it’s gonna be, you know, helping guide him mentally, I think. I know what it’s like to play here as a young goalie, there’s a lot of pressure on you,” Rask added. “So I told him right after I retired, ‘Call me if you need anything and just make sure that you don’t go too high or too low because it’s easy to kind of snowball from that either way.’ So that’s what I’m kind of looking forward to helping him with.”
Rask explained that right now he’s enjoying his retirement and did not know if his future would include any sort of coaching. He did, however, tease that his next position would be working with the organization.
