Tuukka Rask Says He Doesn't Want To Play For Anyone Else But The Boston Bruins
In an interview with the Boston Herald's Steve Conroy, Tuukka Rask spoke publicly for the first time about opting out of the bubble and the trade rumors surrounding him at Shawn Thornton's annual Putts and Punches golf tournament.
We all knew there was a family emergency but Tuukka shed some light on the details of how his opt-out went down:
“I got a phone call from my wife and my daughter was in a state that she needed medical attention and she wasn’t doing well. At that point, I had no choice but to go home. It’s as simple as that,” said Rask. “If you get a phone call wherever you are, like I did, it’s a pretty easy decision. What bothered me a little bit was people thinking that I just left because I didn’t like it there. I’m not going to lie to to you, (the bubble) was awful. But if I didn’t have a reason to leave, I wouldn’t have left, obviously. There’s that. But my daughter’s fine now, the family's good, and it made me feel good. When I got home, they were happy to have me home and things got back to normal pretty quickly, so I knew that I made the right decision. It had nothing to do with hockey or the bubble. It was just the fact that I had to make that decision and I stand by it.”
Rask says he stands by his decision to leave the bubble and it's pretty fucking understandable why he did. He did what every parent would do. Pretty cut and dry.
On trade rumors:
"I don’t want to play for anybody else but the Bruins. I don’t see any reason for that. I’ve been here for a long time and the organization’s been so great for me. We’ve built our home in Boston and we call this home. So, yeah, I don’t want to play for anybody else. I think where my head’s at is focusing on next year and then hopefully a couple of more years after that and then pass the torch for the next guy after that. I want to help the organization as much as I can."
The Rask haters, of which there are many, are gonna be sick. He's a UFA in a year but wants to finish his career in Boston…
On the future:
“They have so much on their plate right now with the draft and everything, we’re just trying to get the next season going and get back to somewhat normal and then we can talk extension later. I still have one more year left. There’s no rush. But like I said, I don’t want to go anywhere else. I want to finish my career here,” said Rask.
Tuukka Rask is here to stay bitches. I will forever defend Tuukka Rask. There is no goaltender (that's available right now) that I would rather want. 2nd in Vezina voting this year. This team is better with Tuukka Rask whether you like it or not. If you want to criticize him for leaving the bubble after a family emergency? Fine. But he did what any parent would do. Until Jeremy Swayman is ready, Tuukka Rask is going to be the goaltender for the Boston Bruins.
(h/t Steve Conroy, Boston Herald)