The way Tuukka Rask’s most vocal critics view him has always been very different than the way his teammates and the Bruins organization view him.
While the debate about whether Rask is “clutch” or whether he can be the backbone of a Stanley Cup team is fairly subjective, the one criticism of him that is most at odds with what the Bruins think of him is the notion that he isn’t committed or doesn’t really care.
That is the criticism that surfaced when Rask missed the final game of the 2016 season due to illness when there was a playoff spot on the line. It returned when he left the playoff “bubble” in 2020 to deal with a medical emergency involving his daughter. Throw in the 2014 Olympics when he missed Finland’s semifinal game due to illness, too.
Rask’s teammates and the Bruins’ front office have never held any of that against him. They knew he really was sick in 2016. They understood why he left the bubble in 2020 and supported his decision. They are on record, many times over, as saying they love Rask and believe in him.
For those who still think Rask isn’t really committed, his return to the Bruins -- made official on Tuesday -- offers a reason to reconsider.
Rask could have retired after last season. He’s 34 years old. He’s made plenty of money. He already holds the Bruins’ franchise record for most career wins. And he had a torn labrum in his hip.
Rask may not have needed surgery if he wasn’t planning to play anymore. But if he wanted to play again, he was going to need to have surgery and go through a nearly six-month rehab process, all while not having a contract.
Rask committed to that and committed to coming back. Furthermore, he committed to the Bruins. Rask never considered playing for another team. He signed a one-year, $1 million contract, far below what he could have gotten if he had explored the open market.
Why? Why go through all that at his age? That’s a lot of work for what might end up being just half a season. It’s clearly not about the money.
Rask is doing this because he does care, and he is committed. He’s committed to the Bruins, and he’s committed to making another run with teammates he referred to as brothers last week. He’s committed to writing a better ending to his career than last spring or the summer of 2020 would have been.
“I think the biggest motivation is just to play with the group I played with my whole career and have another chance to win. That’s about it,” Rask said Wednesday morning.
Last week, he said his bond with guys like Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand is “why I never really in my head wanted to flirt with the opportunity to go anywhere else.”
“We’ve had a team like the Bruins with basically a bunch of us growing up together here, that you kind of feel that brotherhood and you don’t want to leave guys on bad terms,” Rask said. “I just wanted to try to come back and be helpful and maybe finish it up with a bunch of those guys I’ve played with my whole career.”
Signing for just $1 million (and actually earning just $545,000 since it’s a prorated salary) was a gift to the Bruins and an action that backed up Rask’s words. General manager Don Sweeney showed his appreciation when meeting with the media via Zoom on Tuesday afternoon.
“I applaud Tuukka and [agent Markus Lehto],” Sweeney said. “They’re not blind to the salary cap challenges we all face. So I appreciate them working with us in that regard. … Tuukka and Markus, they deserve an awful lot of credit in that regard.
“I think in some ways Tuukka’s sometimes too honest,” Sweeney added. “He’s just a guy that wants to come back and play hockey. He committed to the rehab part of it and the process, which is not an easy thing. He could’ve just faded off. He’s had a hell of a career. He leads in wins. He’s got a lot of things on his resumé. But he wanted to play. He wanted to see how he would feel having had the surgery, and his health being in better accord. As I said, the credit goes to Tuukka, his family and Markus for committing to that and certainly to his teammates. I think they appreciate, as he does with them, being part of a pretty special group of players.”
We can all continue to debate Rask’s on-ice performance and whether this Bruins team can make a real run (Rask said Wednesday he thinks they have as good a chance “as anybody else”), but even his biggest critics should be able to acknowledge that Rask’s actions throughout this return process are not those of a player who doesn’t care.
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