Before this season began, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy acknowledged that there was the potential for things to get “sticky” when it came to Tuukka Rask potentially making a midseason return to a team that already had Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman in net.
Well, that return has now arrived. Rask signed a professional tryout agreement with the Providence Bruins on Thursday and will start their home game Friday night. If all goes well, he’ll be back in Boston next week. (Update: That game has since been postponed. It's unclear what the plan will be for Rask now.)
So, are things “sticky”? While Ullmark and Swayman both got off to slow starts, both have played better over the last month and a half. Ullmark is 6-2-0 with a .927 save percentage over his last eight starts, while Swayman is 3-2-2 with a .931 save percentage in his last seven.
But now it seems likely one of them will have to move to make room for Rask, with Swayman being sent down to Providence the most logical move given that he doesn’t need to go through waivers. Cassidy said that decision has not yet been made, though.
“[Rask] has to sign a contract, and then we’ll make our decision,” Cassidy said. “We know we have an option with Swayman. That’s out there, that he does not need waivers. Doesn’t mean he’ll be the guy that has to go, but having one net for three goaltenders, if that’s the case, will be a challenge, and we’ll figure it out. But at the end of the day, we’ll do what’s best for the Bruins.”
Cassidy praised each of Rask, Ullmark and Swayman for how they’ve handled the situation, and said Ullmark and Swayman were made aware that Rask could return at some point before the season even began.
“We sat down with Jeremy and Linus at the start of the year, before opening night, and kind of spelled out what Tuukka’s plan would be here,” Cassidy said. “The focus was on Ullmark and Swayman first. They were Boston Bruins. Tuukka is a great pro and was going to use the facility and rehab and see where it led. He had a timeline I think everyone was aware of, including those two, that he may or may not come back and play. So they knew from day one.
“They’ve been working the net together in practice. I can’t say enough about all three of them. Tuukka’s been a real pro. At first he was in here early, gone before most of the guys came in. He did not want to be a distraction, but eventually he needed to get live shots, so we worked that out. I think they’ve all gotten their work load. [Goalie coach Bob Essensa] has done a good job balancing that, putting our two guys first and then getting Tuukka his work.”
Rask, for his part, said on Thursday that working with Ullmark and Swayman has been great and that the three of them get along well.
“Obviously people from the outside are looking for controversy,” Rask said. “There’s always controversy when you play in Boston. But so far, sharing the net with Sway and Linus in practice, we get along great. It’s been good. Like I said, I just want to help out as much as I can.”
Cassidy said that keeping three goalies on the NHL roster or keeping Swayman with the team by putting him on the taxi squad could be options, but that finding a way to get all three of them enough playing time would be challenging. In Swayman’s case in particular, he noted that sitting any young player for an extended period of time would not be ideal.
“I think if you ask any goalie, one net for three goalies at some point becomes a challenge,” Cassidy said. “But we’ll do whatever we have to do to get everyone in the right spot. At the end of the day, I’ll say this about any position: You never want a young player that’s still building his game to sit out too long, whether he’s a goalie, D or forward. So we have to manage that if it does become Swayman.
“But by the same token, if he’s giving us the best chance to win, then we have to factor it in that he needs his share of starts. So yes, you could see that, absolutely. … At the end of the day, hopefully we’ll have three pretty good goaltenders to choose from, so that’s a good problem to have.”
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