Player Discussion Tuukka Rask VI

[Mr. Make-Believe]

Rask sucks. Hes blows. Will never win a big one. Will n ver deliver a Cup.

We should trade him . We’ ll get a ****ing fortune for him.

I'm a Rask supporter. I hope I've been in clear in that opinion now and over the years.

However, I totally understand the argument that his value doesn't match his cap hit. One wishes to claim he's overpaid or that we may be able to match his effectiveness with another player in his position for less money... Well, that's not absurd to me at this point. In fact, it's entirely fair.

But:
1) I believe in Rask.
2) (and more importantly) I am scared s***less of the idea of the goaltending carousel of crap that we risk seeing if he's dumped. I have zero interest in attempting to resurrect a Mike Smith-like career to plug the hole we'd open. It is a potential nightmare.

Rask is arguably overpaid. There are concerns and that article does a great job of outlining them. But with Rask between the pipes, I feel as though our goaltending isn't what will hold the team back from being competitive. If there's a premium associated with that, it's one I have zero issue with.

 

[Dr Hook]

If there's a premium associated with that, it's one I have zero issue with.

You have to believe the Bruins feel the same way too. There aren't many guys in the league that are better, even if we call Rask a top 15 guy that puts him ahead of 45-50 other NHL goalies. You will pay for that. Maybe too much, but I am with you- I have zero interest in seeing the bad old days of Steve Shields/Jim Carey/Jordan Sigalet/etc etc etc in a revolving door through our net. He might not single handedly steal us a cup, but if we get the rest of the team right, goaltending will not be an issue.

 

[JOKER 192]

Rask is amazing, he's elite, a champs champ, we are going all the way this guy, no doubt in my mind.

How people don't see this I don't know.

 

[JOKER 192]

Rask sucks. Hes blows. Will never win a big one. Will n ver deliver a Cup.

We should trade him . We’ ll get a ****ing fortune for him.

Can't tell you how disappointing it is to see you take this position. Instead of encouraging intelligent discussion , this is what you bring. I thought you were better than that.

 

[bobbyorr04]

I recently heard on TSN , a hockey annalist expressing concern about Boston's Tuukka Rask. As per the annalist (I can't for the life of me remember his name) he said that Rask has put up some pretty average numbers in spite of having faced among the easiest work loads in The NHL. He sighted that the Bruins defense was top in the league, giving up the least high danger chances of any team yet Rask's numbers didn't reflect this advantage. I set out to find this on the net and came across one that I deemed to be even better, as it explains in detail how these conclusions are drawn and how they compare to the norm.

Here is an in depth look and analysis of Rask's work since he signed his current contract. Unsurprisingly (at least to me ) it deems him to be below average and getting worse by the year among starters.

It's a long read but it is worth the read.



It concludes the following

Takeaway: The best available stats tell us Rask was good at stopping easy shots, not so much with harder ones and was rarely above average (either year by year or overall) in any meaningful advanced statistic. In fact, he has been regularly below average and in some cases among the bottom third of starting goaltenders. Worse yet for Bruins fans, he is seemingly getting worse each year, despite minimal changes to the team defense in front of him, as one can reasonably expect due to goaltender aging curves.

I’m somewhere in the middle of the pack and this article Rask vs. Reward: Does the performance match the pay? pretty much sums up the way I've felt about Rask the last few years.

To me Rask has been an average starting goalie the last few years with the potential to be elite at times and the potential to play some God-awful games as well...and I also feel he has been declining, especially in do or die games.

I’m still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and hope he has a banner season, although I have to admit I've been steadily losing confidence in Rask's ability to help take this team to a higher level.

On a more positive note, I'm glad the B's picked up Halak.

 

[Bruinswillwin77]

Here is my take on Rask; and I am not on either side of the debate.
He will win games making amazing saves and then the next game leave you wondering why he didn't make 'the save' the night after.

So if you are looking for consistency, I personally don't see Tuukka as a money goaltender.

 

[LouJersey]

I still remember the nightmare when rask let in 2 softies in game 6 against Chicago . He has brain cramps when the game means the most. Maybe he can't handle the pressure? Not sure. He has all the talent in the world. I think it's psychological with him.

The Chara seidenberg pairing lost that series for the Bruins. Rask was pretty super overall that series. Those two goals game 6 really weren’t on him IMO

 

[LouJersey]

So who do you take over Rask in the league?

East

Holtby
Murray (no me)
Price (meh, not with that contract)
Vaz
Andersen (lol)

West

Hellebuyck
Rinne (nope)
Jones (nope)
Quick (maybe?)
Fleury

 

[Pia8988]

So who do you take over Rask in the league?

East

Holtby
Murray (no me)
Price (meh, not with that contract)
Vaz
Andersen (lol)

West

Hellebuyck
Rinne (nope)
Jones (nope)
Quick (maybe?)
Fleury

Gibson
Maybe Saros if you're willing to take the risk, would take him over Rinne going forward.
Not on your list is Bob, but his playoff stats are atrocious.

The list is indeed pretty short.

 

[LouJersey]

Gibson
Maybe Saros if you're willing to take the risk, would take him over Rinne going forward.
Not on your list is Bob, but his playoff stats are atrocious.

The list is indeed pretty short.

Forgot those 3, tires lol.

I’d take Gibson, holtby Vaz and Hellebuyck....prolly fluery as well that’s it

 

[Bruinator]

Can't tell you how disappointing it is to see you take this position. Instead of encouraging intelligent discussion , this is what you bring. I thought you were better than that.
Intelligent discussion?? I think his point is it's hard to find in here. In case it went over your head he is merely pointing out that some on here are saying he is a completely useless slug who allows bad goals and never rises to the occasion so we should trade him for a superstar forward or defenceman. Do you not see how ridiculous this is.

 

[JOKER 192]

See I see it as something else. In see it as ridiculing those who post such things in an effort to silence them. The Rask apologists often refer to such tactics.

They somehow come to the conclusion that if they don't agree with a position then it stupid. They give it the old high school mob mentality where one poster ridicules the "offending poster" and then they all come out and "like" the post regardless of it's content, all that is required is that it defend the narrative.

 

[missingchicklet]

There is not a single great goalie in all the NHL, that is if you go by reading GDTs of various teams after losses over the course of a season. Bottom line is all goalies give up softies. All goalies have bad nights. What differentiates the great goalies from the mediocre goalies is that great goalies give up fewer softies and have fewer bad nights. The main thing I want from a goalie is keeping the puck out of the net and putting the team in a good position to win. Tuukka being tied for second in the NHL last season in GAA for goalies playing over 50 games (9th for goalies playing over 20 games) seems to me like a pretty good thing. What stat as impactful as that is our $7 mil 2nd line center second in? How about our $6 mil bottom 6 forward? What big stat is he second in the NHL in?

Tuukka getting a couple million more than what a few people think he is worth is such a minor issue when that position is an area of strength to begin with. Tuukka's contract is not even close to problematic when you look at the big picture and how much money is being "wasted" elsewhere. Good luck trading Tuukka and replacing him with some bargain goalie who will be a top 10 goalie in the NHL. See how far that will get you in the playoffs. Also, good luck even finding a team willing to part with a top 10 goalie even if you want to pay the money to go in a different direction than Tuukka.

Goalie is an easy position to criticize since the goalie is the last line of defense, and cannot score goals to make up for any blunders. People need to keep things in perspective. The problems vexing the Bs against elite competition in the playoffs go deeper than goalie. Getting secondary scoring and avoiding massive defensive faux pas during the games are things that have proven to be bigger issues than goaltending for the Bs. The goalie cannot score goals when the offense is stagnant, and he can only do his best to minimize the damage done from defense that shits its pants at inopportune times and/pr is just plain over-matched, as was the case last season against TB and certainly would have been against Wash. This season it will take a lot of luck for the Bs to win the Cup since they did not do enough relative to the top teams to address areas of weakness. Without a top-end goalie they will have no chance whatsoever to win a Cup. Absolutely none.

 

[Gee Wally]

See I see it as something else. In see it as ridiculing those who post such things in an effort to silence them. The Rask apologists often refer to such tactics.

They somehow come to the conclusion that if they don't agree with a position then it stupid. They give it the old high school mob mentality where one poster ridicules the "offending poster" and then they all come out and "like" the post regardless of it's content, all that is required is that it defend the narrative.

You dont think its f***ing stupid that to take the position that any player is garbage but worth a fortune in trade?

Really?

I thought you were better than that.

 

[hrdpuk]

I keep reading Tuuk is overpaid . So what would be a reasonable price for a goalie of his caliber ?

 

[JOKER 192]

You dont think its ****ing stupid that to take the position that any player is garbage but worth a fortune in trade?

Really?

I thought you were better than that.

Actually , my hand to god , when I saw that I thought (I wouldn't call it stupid) it makes zero sense.

Notice how I didn't "like" the post or piggyback on it .

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

I keep reading Tuuk is overpaid . So what would be a reasonable price for a goalie of his caliber ?

First you need to establish what his caliber is.

Back to square one.

 

[JOKER 192]

I keep reading Tuuk is overpaid . So what would be a reasonable price for a goalie of his caliber ?

Tuukka got at least 1M too much and he got it at least 2/3 years early. 7M , 6 years ago, was a lot of money. That is the kind of money top Goalies are signing for now. If managers are dumb enough to give stupid contracts (like Price and Lundqvist) let them . It doesn't mean you have to be just as stupid. He took money , term and NMC/NTC too.
Before he got his contract he put up good numbers playing behind a very strong defense mostly in a back roll. When you look beyond the numbers he's pretty ordinary and should have an ordinary salary to go with it.

 

[ODAAT]

First you need to establish what his caliber is.

Back to square one.

If I weren`t a fan of the game or a fair weathered fan who found his way to Hf and was reading about this Tuukka Rask guy, based on opinions here, I`d think he was a fringe back up with some of the posts about the guy

I have my issues with Tuukka at times, but I`m a fan, he`s value or salary is what the B`s thought he was worth, nothing I can do about it.

For my money, Krejci has long been THE Bruin I have consistently had issues with in regards to performance matching monies earned.

 

[EverettMike]

The Chara seidenberg pairing lost that series for the Bruins. Rask was pretty super overall that series. Those two goals game 6 really weren’t on him IMO

Game 4 Rask was a sieve, including the goal in OT.

 

[DKH]

Game 4 Rask was a sieve, including the goal in OT.

That was the game

They get that and they should have they win

 

[EverettMike]

That was the game

They get that and they should have they win

Yup. That series was even closer than I think people remember, but for as much as they should have had game 1 they stole game 2. The game I'll never get over, far more than game 6, was 4.

 

[LouJersey]

Game 4 Rask was a sieve, including the goal in OT.

Yeah that was his terrible game for sure.

 

[Glove Malfunction]

I still remember the nightmare when rask let in 2 softies in game 6 against Chicago . He has brain cramps when the game means the most. Maybe he can't handle the pressure? Not sure. He has all the talent in the world. I think it's psychological with him.

Frankly, anyone calling those goals "softies" should be automatically disqualified from talking about goalie performance ever again.

 

[Glove Malfunction]

So who do you take over Rask in the league?

East

Holtby
Murray (no me)
Price (meh, not with that contract)
Vaz
Andersen (lol)

West

Hellebuyck
Rinne (nope)
Jones (nope)
Quick (maybe?)
Fleury

I would take Rinne and Quick, because when they are on, they are (to my mind) better goalies than Rask. But Rinne is probably even more inconsistent than Rask, and Quick has trouble staying on the ice. So...here we are. Can we take 2014 Henrik?