Player Discussion Tuukka Rask - VII

[NDiesel]

Rask isn't allowed 2 sick days in a 13 year career.

This is the ridiculous part to me. Because of the timing people take it as him faking it, but if he wasn't able to handle stress why was he playing in game 6 vs. Chicago in the finals? Why wasn't he sick more often those playoffs? How bout last year, why was he not sick for game 7 vs. Toronto or game 7 vs. St. Louis?

He was literally sick for one playoff game and one game that was the last of the season (and for one international game). Hardly enough to prove correlation.

 

[Dr Hook]

This is the ridiculous part to me. Because of the timing people take it as him faking it, but if he wasn't able to handle stress why was he playing in game 6 vs. Chicago in the finals? Why wasn't he sick more often those playoffs? How bout last year, why was he not sick for game 7 vs. Toronto or game 7 vs. St. Louis?

He was literally sick for one playoff game and one game that was the last of the season (and for one international game). Hardly enough to prove correlation.

You see what you want to see.

 

[TheReal13Linseman]

lol, people here just keep being more and more wrong about this situation.

We are better with him, glad he'll be back.

Oh, so this ends the story?
It’s meaningless.
“Intends”? Lol
He could change his mind tomorrow.
All depends on where his head is at.
I’ll believe it when I see him bw the pipes.
And, even then, I’ll be skeptical.

 

[TheReal13Linseman]

Don’s tweet is too vague to support any real conclusion.

 

[TheReal13Linseman]

I agree I have friends without kids who disagree and those with who want to get rid off him - however the majority line up with kids

What question are you asking people?
If it’s a really serious medical issue, then most people would be ok with that.

But, that’s not the question. The question is: IS it a real issue that justified leaving the team at that moment?

Many here just avoid that and say, “of course it was real” (as if they know) and shout down anyone who dares question it and paint them as cruel and unempathetic.

The jury is still out.

btw, I have kids.

 

[DKH]

What question are you asking people?
If it’s a really serious medical issue, then most people would be ok with that.

But, that’s not the question. The question is: IS it a real issue that justified leaving the team at that moment?

Many here just avoid that and say, “of course it was real” (as if they know) and shout down anyone who dares question it and paint them as cruel and unempathetic.

The jury is still out.

btw, I have kids.

I really Shouldn’t comment or speculate what I believe I know on a message board so I understand why people will have different take then me

I feel bad for Rask situation whereas others despise or even hate him.

 

[member 96824]

Many here only really know of the Thomas/Rask era.
They be in for a shock.

Uhmmm excuse me. The Thomas/Rask/Fernandez era, thank you.

 

[TheReal13Linseman]

I really Shouldn’t comment or speculate what I believe I know on a message board so I understand why people will have different take then me

I feel bad for Rask situation whereas others despise or even hate him.

Fair enough.
I majored in reading between lines.
If I knew more, then my take might be different, as well.
Without it, my monstrous default skeptical baseline is not easily suppressed (no matter how hard I try).

I will say that I too feel badly for him and the situation and that, believe it or not, I like him as a goalie.

 

[NDiesel]

What question are you asking people?
If it’s a really serious medical issue, then most people would be ok with that.

But, that’s not the question. The question is: IS it a real issue that justified leaving the team at that moment?

Many here just avoid that and say, “of course it was real” (as if they know) and shout down anyone who dares question it and paint them as cruel and unempathetic.

The jury is still out.

btw, I have kids.

Many avoid that question because neither side will ever get a definitive answer. It's a pointless exercise to even discuss it. If my options at this point are remain forever skeptical or just accept what information I have available, I am going to do the latter. At least until something definitive enough can change my mind.

 

[NDiesel]

Oh, so this ends the story?
It’s meaningless.
“Intends”? Lol
He could change his mind tomorrow.
All depends on where his head is at.
I’ll believe it when I see him bw the pipes.
And, even then, I’ll be skeptical.

Bergeron could change his mind tomorrow and retire. Krejci could fly back to Czech Republic and play there. I'm not going to assume they aren't going to play because their mind could change.

 

[TheReal13Linseman]

Bergeron could change his mind tomorrow and retire. Krejci could fly back to Czech Republic and play there. I'm not going to assume they aren't going to play because their mind could change.

The difference among the three is that Tuukka’s reputation precedes him.

For the record, I hope he really wants to return and that he does and that he plays well. (And that Don gets us the personnel we need to make another serious run.). But, if TR is not 100% “in”, that’s “okay...”, but in fairness he should just do everyone a favor and walk away.

 

[AngryMilkcrates]

What question are you asking people?
If it’s a really serious medical issue, then most people would be ok with that.

But, that’s not the question. The question is: IS it a real issue that justified leaving the team at that moment?

Many here just avoid that and say, “of course it was real” (as if they know) and shout down anyone who dares question it and paint them as cruel and unempathetic.

The jury is still out.

btw, I have kids.

The Boston sports media is one of the most ravenous in the nation. Rask leaving the bubble is like serving up prime rib to local Sports writers and radio.
Have you not noticed how most have refused to touch this situation? They won't even talk about it.

Maybe the reason is that a select few people actually know what is happening and have decided to protect the family's privacy?

You say you have kids. Have you never conceived of a situation that could be told to you over the phone that would make you leave your job even though it meant you would be hated for it and might even lose your position?

I can.

There are situations that can happen in a family that you don't want to get out. I've had friends tell me about medical issues with their kids in confidence that I will take to my grave without telling people because it's both serious and embarrassing. Deformities, embarrassing medical conditions that cause socially crippling side effects, suicide attempts, etc, etc, etc.
These things getting out would hurt the family, so those who know keep quiet about them to protect the ones they love. Please respect that.

If one of Rask's daughter called him in tears saying she has not been able to sleep at night because she is afraid with him gone in this pandemic then I would not fault him one iota for going home. And that's on the lighter side of possible reasons. For all we know it could be something serious.
Remember last December when McAvoy went to the hospital for a serious heart issue? It was treated and is being monitored and he was and IS fine. What if the Rask family is dealing with similar issues? They are fine NOW, but might not be in the future.

We don't know.

No one else needs to know. Especially any sports fans who have no business knowing YET demanding to know that reason.

Family > Job

100% of the time.

 

[NDiesel]

The Boston sports media is one of the most ravenous in the nation. Rask leaving the bubble is like serving up prime rib to local Sports writers and radio.
Have you not noticed how most have refused to touch this situation? They won't even talk about it.

Maybe the reason is that a select few people actually know what is happening and have decided to protect the family's privacy?

You say you have kids. Have you never conceived of a situation that could be told to you over the phone that would make you leave your job even though it meant you would be hated for it and might even lose your position?

I can.

There are situations that can happen in a family that you don't want to get out. I've had friends tell me about medical issues with their kids in confidence that I will take to my grave without telling people because its both serious and embarrassing. Deformities, embarrassing medical conditions that cause socially crippling side effects, suicide attempts, etc, etc, etc.
These things getting out would hurt the family, so those who know keep quiet about them to protect the ones they love. Please respect that.

If one of Rasks daughter called him in tears saying she has not been able to sleep at night because she is afraid with him gone in this pandemic then I would not fault him one iota for going home. And thats on the lighter side of possible reasons. For all we know it could be something serious.
Remember last December when McAvoy went to the hospital for a serious heart issue? It was treated and is being monitored and he has and IS fine. What if the Rask family is dealing with a similar issues. They are fine NOW, but might not be in the future.

We don't know.

No one else needs to know. Especially any sports fans who has no business knowing YET demanding to know that reason.

Family > Job

100% of the time.

Wish I could super like this, very well said.

 

[Johnny4778]

The yearly goaltending carousel before Thomas(06-12)/Rask(09-today) was horrible after Moog/Lemelin(88-93):

69	Norm Foster	1991	1991	1	3		2	1	0	14	82	68	.829	4.57	0	184				150	-4.7	0	0	0	0
70	Matt DelGuidice	1991	1992	2	11		2	5	1	28	246	218	.886	3.87	0	434				101	-0.2	0	0	0	2
71	Daniel Berthiaume	1992	1992	1	8		1	4	2	21	156	135	.865	3.16	0	399				120	-3.6	0	0	0	0
72	John Blue	1993	1994	2	41		14	16	7	111	1004	893	.889	2.94	1	2266				101	-0.7	0	2	2	13
73	Mike Bales	1993	1993	1	1		0	0	0	1	10	9	.900	2.42	0	25				87	0.2	0	0	0	0
74	Vincent Riendeau	1994	1995	2	29		10	12	2	77	636	559	.879	3.00	1	1541				118	-11.5	0	1	1	2
75	Jon Casey	1994	1994	1	57		30	15	9	153	1289	1136	.881	2.88	4	3192				113	-17.7	0	2	2	14
76	Blaine Lacher	1995	1996	2	47		22	16	4	123	1089	966	.887	2.80	4	2636				112	-13.2	0	1	1	8
77	Craig Billington	1995	1996	2	35		15	14	3	98	734	636	.866	3.35	1	1753				132	-24.0	0	0	0	4
78	Robbie Tallas	1996	2000	5	87		26	35	10	211	1991	1780	.894	2.85	3	4442				111	-20.3	0	0	0	6
79	Scott Bailey	1996	1997	2	19		6	6	2	55	445	390	.876	3.42	0	965				126	-11.2	0	0	0	0
80	Paxton Schafer	1997	1997	1	3		0	0	0	6	25	19	.760	4.65	0	77				252	-3.6	0	0	0	0
81	Tim Cheveldae	1997	1997	1	2		0	1	0	5	33	28	.848	3.22	0	93				159	-1.9	0	0	0	0
82	Jim Carey	1997	1998	2	29		8	15	1	88	721	633	.878	3.52	2	1500				129	-19.8	0	0	0	0
83	Byron Dafoe	1998	2002	5	283		132	104	40	627	7028	6401	.911	2.30	25	16364				95	34.7	0	8	8	60
84	John Grahame	2000	2003	4	76		29	30	9	196	1948	1752	.899	2.78	4	4246				107	-13.1	0	4	4	18
85	Kay Whitmore	2001	2001	1	5		1	2	0	18	94	76	.809	5.33	0	203				198	-8.9	0	0	0	0
86	Peter Skudra	2001	2001	1	25		6	12	1	62	511	449	.879	3.33	0	1116				125	-12.6	0	0	0	0
87	Andrew Raycroft	2001	2006	5	108		43	46	12	264	2876	2612	.908	2.62	3	6053				98	5.3	0	2	2	0

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

88	Tim Thomas	2003	2012	8	378	260	196	121	45	899	11432	10533	.921	2.48	31	21785	174	.669	23	86	140.5	0	6	6	39
89	Steve Shields	2003	2003	1	36		12	13	9	97	930	833	.896	2.76	0	2112				114	-12.2	0	0	0	8
90	Jeff Hackett	2003	2003	1	18		8	9	0	53	500	447	.894	3.03	1	991				116	-7.4	0	0	0	2
91	Felix Potvin	2004	2004	1	28		12	8	6	67	690	623	.903	2.51	4	1605				109	-5.6	0	0	0	8
92	Hannu Toivonen	2006	2007	2	38		12	14	5	114	1092	978	.896	3.33	1	2057				108	-8.3	0	0	0	8
93	Jordan Sigalet	2006	2006	1	1		0	0	0	0	0	0		0.00	0	1					0.0	0	0	0	0
94	Philippe Sauve	2007	2007	1	2		0	0	0	4	23	19	.826	5.80	0	41				184	-1.8	0	0	0	0
95	Joey MacDonald	2007	2007	1	7		2	2	1	16	195	179	.918	2.68	0	358				87	2.5	0	0	0	0
96	Brian Finley	2007	2007	1	2		0	1	0	3	33	30	.909	3.04	0	59				96	0.1	0	0	0	0
97	Tuukka Rask	2008	2020	13	536	515	291	158	64	1163	14874	13711	.922	2.26	50	30810	313	.608	68	89	146.1	0	15	15	24
98	Manny Fernandez	2008	2009	2	32	31	18	10	3	87	886	799	.902	2.76	2	1888	16	.516	7	108	-6.2	0	0	0	2
99	Alex Auld	2008	2008	1	23	19	9	7	5	47	578	531	.919	2.32	2	1213	10	.526	2	90	5.5	0	0	0	0
100	Marty Turco

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

3 Calder cups in there! Dafoe has some good years, and raycroft did too. Blain Lacher - If I recall correctly he sent a video to bruins and they gave him a tryout. One good year. But certainly shows the carousel we seem to have forever until Tim ah and Tukka stabilizes it. Lots of those years goaltending was our number one problem.

 

[bp13]

Rask isn't allowed 2 sick days in a 13 year career.

This is a bit of an understatement isn't it? The guy just pulled himself from the 2nd round of the playoffs in a season where the team had been the best team in the NHL. Objectively, he was the most important piece of the puzzle in a year they were favorites to win the Cup and one round deep already. Now you can defend his decision all you want, but that's not a "sick day".

I'll go back to my point...I wouldn't trade him out of spite nor would I take a mediocre substitute. But I would keep a very open mind.

 

[BigGoalBrad]

Rask could have returned when things were deemed OK at home. He probably gets cleared for Game 5 or would have been available if there was a Game 6.

Hes only a distraction upon his return if the teammates felt he shouldn't have left.

Whatever having one more year on his contract is ideal IMO. If its 2-3 you think about going in another direction but hes in his prime give me another run.

 

[Estlin]

Agent: No talks from Tuukka Rask on an early retirement

Tuukka Rask has one season remaining on his eight-year, $56 million contract with the Bruins. As of now, Rask intends to fulfill the terms of his deal.

“There has been no such discussions that he wouldn’t return,” Markus Lehto, Rask’s agent, wrote in an email.

On Aug. 15, Rask opted out of the playoffs prior to Game 3 of the opening playoff round against Carolina. Rask returned to Boston from Toronto that day to be with his family. According to Bruins president Cam Neely, Rask informed the team of a family emergency.

General manager Don Sweeney has not spoken with Rask since the goalie informed him he was leaving the Toronto bubble. From Sweeney’s understanding, all is well with Rask’s family. The GM intends to proceed with Rask and Jaroslav Halak. Both will be unrestricted free agents after next season.

“I have zero reservations where Tuukka will be on and off the ice for us,” Sweeney said.

The chatter around the team, even before the playoffs, was that Rask would consider retiring upon the expiration of his contract instead of pursuing an extension or seeking a new deal elsewhere.

Even if Rask, 33, intends to return next year, the Bruins may consider alternatives to stabilize the position. Rask was granted a leave of absence in November 2018 to attend to a family matter.

Rask, like every player, was granted the right to opt out of the playoffs — following a four-month NHL pandemic hiatus — without repercussions. But coach Bruce Cassidy acknowledged Rask’s departure had an effect on the team.

 

[Seidenbergy]

This is a bit of an understatement isn't it? The guy just pulled himself from the 2nd round of the playoffs in a season where the team had been the best team in the NHL.......Now you can defend his decision all you want, but that's not a "sick day".

I never said it was. Weird.

(And not to nitpick but he pulled himself in the first round, not second.)

 

[Lobster57]

This is a bit of an understatement isn't it? The guy just pulled himself from the 2nd round of the playoffs in a season where the team had been the best team in the NHL. Objectively, he was the most important piece of the puzzle in a year they were favorites to win the Cup and one round deep already. Now you can defend his decision all you want, but that's not a "sick day".

I'll go back to my point...I wouldn't trade him out of spite nor would I take a mediocre substitute. But I would keep a very open mind.

I think the "2 sick days" is in response to his supposed reputation, which if looked at even semi-objectively, is not really deserved and definitely skewed a lot of people's response to him leaving the bubble.

 

[bp13]

What question are you asking people?
If it’s a really serious medical issue, then most people would be ok with that.

But, that’s not the question. The question is: IS it a real issue that justified leaving the team at that moment?

Many here just avoid that and say, “of course it was real” (as if they know) and shout down anyone who dares question it and paint them as cruel and unempathetic.

The jury is still out.

btw, I have kids.

This is where I stand too. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt assuming he'd never leave his teammates unless it were a dire situation, and I'm willing to assume his comments about the bubble atmosphere a day before his emergency departure was simply coincidence, but that doesn't mean I'd begrudge the GM for being open-minded about finding his replacement.

Put another way...if Rask decides to retire mid-season or some other 'situation' arises next year where he decides to leave the team, is Sweeney gonna catch heat for not seeing signs of that coming? Absolutely! Which is why, as the man responsible for insuring team success, he should cover his bases. It's likely he won't find a more reliable option that approaches the level of Rask, but I'd be looking.

 

[TheReal13Linseman]

Just looking at these two quotes, it’s important to glean what they mean.

1. “There has been no such discussions that he wouldn’t return,” Markus Lehto, Rask’s agent, wrote in an email.

Does that mean that they’ve had discussions that he WILL return? No. It could mean that. Or, it could Simply mean that they’ve not discussed it at all. Or, TR could have even made a declarative statement, either written or oral, that he would not return, but that there was no “discussion” with his agent about it thereafter.

2. “I have zero reservations where Tuukka will be on and off the ice for us,” Sweeney said.

This statement is meaningless. It could mean a myriad of things. How the press doesn’t push for clarification of a statement like that is beyond me. Sweeney is pretty good at making vague statements like this or avoiding questions by giving answers to questions that were not asked, as he did with Haggs in the press conference the other day. He just gives a non answer, or a half answer, and moves on.

Veritas, Donny?

 

[hrdpuk]

+Hoping he comes back. Exceptional goalie . Career 536 games .922 SV%

Goalies like that are hard to come by. Those numbers represent a lot wins

 

[Dr Hook]

Just looking at these two quotes, it’s important to glean what they mean.

1. “There has been no such discussions that he wouldn’t return,” Markus Lehto, Rask’s agent, wrote in an email.

Does that mean that they’ve had discussions that he WILL return? No. It could mean that. Or, it could Simply mean that they’ve not discussed it at all. Or, TR could have even made a declarative statement, either written or oral, that he would not return, but that there was no “discussion” with his agent about it thereafter.

2. “I have zero reservations where Tuukka will be on and off the ice for us,” Sweeney said.

This statement is meaningless. It could mean a myriad of things. How the press doesn’t push for clarification of a statement like that is beyond me. Sweeney is pretty good at making vague statements like this or avoiding questions by giving answers to questions that were not asked, as he did with Haggs in the press conference the other day. He just gives a non answer, or a half answer, and moves on.

Veritas, Donny?

It's corporate bullshit speak. The press probably know they won't get any more than that out of him. Don has always been pretty tight-lipped and non-commital with the media. They teach that crap in business school

 

[TheReal13Linseman]

It's corporate bullshit speak. The press probably know they won't get any more than that out of him. Don has always been pretty tight-lipped and non-commital with the media. They teach that crap in business school

Exactly. What infuriates me is that people read something like that and conclude, with seeming absolute certainty, that, “Well, see, there you have it, Donnie confirms that Tuukka’s coming back. Nothing to see here!” Comical.

 

[hrdpuk]

Tuukka Rask Explains Why He Left Bruins In NHL Bubble