If Bruins general manager Don Sweeney is on the verge of trading goalie Tuukka Rask, he’s putting on a pretty good poker face publicly.
TSN’s Frank Seravalli reported last week that Sweeney has “initiated conversations” with other teams to gauge Rask’s trade value as the 33-year-old netminder enters the final season of his contract.
Earlier in the offseason, Sweeney said he had “zero reservations” about Rask going forward despite his opting out of the playoffs to deal with a family emergency.
Speaking to the media via Zoom on Monday morning, Sweeney was asked if anything has changed regarding Rask’s status or how he views the goalie.
“No. No,” Sweeney said. “As a matter of fact, our staff has communicated with Tuukka, and as I said before, he remains a big part of our roster planning going forward, because I think, by my knowledge, he was second in the Vezina balloting.
“We’re very, very comfortable with where our goaltending’s at. I think you’re going to need it. I don’t know what the schedule and what the season -- I think there’s a lot of things that are up in the air. It could be a challenging environment from a season standpoint and might make the goaltending even more a big part of what you’ve got to have going forward.”
On Sunday night, a new wrinkle in the Rask trade speculation emerged when a report revealed that Rask’s no-trade clause, which currently allows him to pick 15 teams he would accept a trade to, expires on Friday, meaning the Bruins could trade him to any team at that time.
Asked about that report, Sweeney said he wouldn’t confirm any details about a player’s contract.
“I don’t think it’s my responsibility to confirm what’s in a player’s contract,” Sweeney said. “Player movement, player talks, I hope everybody respects the privacy of each and every one of those conversations.”
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