With Tuukka Rask announcing his retirement, Tom Giles and Lou Merloni joined Early Edition to share their thoughts on what lead to his decision to walk away from the Boston Bruins.
Tuukka Rask's historic career with the Boston Bruins is over.
The 34-year-old goaltender announced his retirement Wednesday evening in a heartfelt statement released by the team.
Here is the statement in full:
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Rask returned to the Bruins last month after rehabbing from offseason hip surgery following the 2020-21 NHL season. He appeared in four games but had not played since Jan. 24 due to a lower body injury.
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“Over these last few weeks, I've realized that my body is not responding the way it needs to for me to play at the level I expect of myself and that my teammates and Bruins fans deserve," Rask said in the above statement.
The Finnish netminder retires as one of the best goalies in Bruins history (easily top three) and one of the best players of his era.
He played 15 seasons for Boston, helping them reach the postseason in seven of the nine years he was the starting goalie. He also helped Boston advance to three Stanley Cup Final series, once as a backup in 2011 and twice as the starter in 2013 and 2019. He also won the Vezina Trophy in 2013-14 and finished second in the award's voting two years ago.
Rask finishes as the Bruins' all-time leader in wins (308) and saves (14,345). He's tied with Tim Thomas for the franchise's top save percentage (.921) and his 2.10 goals against average ranks second behind Tiny Thompson.
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The only blemish on Rask's resume is the lack of a Stanley Cup title as Boston's No. 1 goalie, although he came very close in 2013 and 2019.