When Tuukka Rask opted out of the NHL playoffs Saturday morning, the assumption was that it would be for good, as the term "opted out of the NHL's Return to Play" used in the Bruins' statement was the same language teams used for players who opted out before the restart.
From a strictly technical standpoint, though, Rask could return to the team later in the playoffs. The Boston Globe's Kevin Paul Dupont confirmed with the league that Rask would be allowed to re-enter the bubble and play again should he and the team want to do that at some point.
While it seems unlikely that would happen, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy didn't rule it out when asked about the possibility on Sunday.
"I guess," Cassidy said when asked if he could envision Rask returning at some point. "Tuukka would best be able to answer that. We exchanged texts today, left him a message. He's doing well, his family's doing well, so that's very encouraging for everyone in the Bruins organization. As we said before, we support Tuukka. We wish him well. We want nothing but the best for him and his family.
"Should circumstances change there where he feels he can come back to the club, then I think we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, see what it involves. Obviously, as you said, the NHL is OK with it. That's how we'd handle that. I wasn't involved in the conversation when he spoke to (general manager Don Sweeney), so that's probably another question for Donnie as well, if they even bridged that."
As Cassidy mentioned, it's possible Rask and Sweeney have already discussed that option. It's also possible they already ruled it out and Cassidy just wasn't told.
Either way, the Bruins' approach right now and for the foreseeable is obviously that Jaroslav Halak is now their No. 1 goalie, while Dan Vladar and Max Lagace will compete for the backup job. Halak stopped 29 of the 30 shots he faced in Saturday's 3-1 win that gave the Bruins a 2-1 series lead.
"Jaro is a popular guy and (his teammates) know his abilities," Cassidy said after the game. "You know, now it could be his turn to have a nice run. I think it's in the back of everyone's mind, if we want to reach our goals we're going to need a goaltender in there to help us get there. No team gets there without solid goaltending. So maybe this is Jaro’s year. Tuukka had a great run last year. So that's certainly something we can rally around, but by the same token it wasn't going to be the end of the world to have Jaro in there."
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