Rask sets sights on Stanley Cup

Tuukka Rask isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Well, maybe to a golf course, now that they've been allowed to reopen in Massachusetts. And he'll probably be among the first people on a tennis court, if coronavirus-related restrictions permit access to those.

But the Bruins goalie, who holds franchise records in games played (536) and wins (291), isn't thinking about leaving the crease when his $7 million per year contract expires at the end of the [...]

Tuukka Rask isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Well, maybe to a golf course, now that they've been allowed to reopen in Massachusetts. And he'll probably be among the first people on a tennis court, if coronavirus-related restrictions permit access to those.

But the Bruins goalie, who holds franchise records in games played (536) and wins (291), isn't thinking about leaving the crease when his $7 million per year contract expires at the end of the 2020-21 season.

“I haven't thought about retirement at all,” Rask said during a video conference with local media on Monday.

“I know that this summer, I can start talking to the Bruins about a possible extension. When that day comes, we'll see what happens, but definitely I haven't put any thought into retirement, nothing like that. We'll see how this season plays out, and then we'll see if there's extension talks.”

Rask was, and technically still is, in the midst of a potentially award-worthy season that has been on pause since March 12. The 36-save shutout he recorded in a 2-0 decision at Philadelphia two nights earlier was his fifth of 2019-20, which ties him for second in the league. It raised his saves percentage to .929 — also second-best in the NHL — and dropped his goals-against average to a league-best 2.12.

Rask and goaltending partner Jaroslav Halak had surrendered a league-low 167 goals through 70 games, making them the leaders for the William M. Jennings Trophy, awarded to the goalies who combine to yield the fewest goals in the league. The duo ranked third in the NHL last year, and has another season ahead: Halak just signed a one-year extension through 2020-21.

While Rask, who turned 33 on the night he beat the Flyers, may not have been contemplating retirement when this season was interrupted, he also hasn't put too much thought into how long his career might be extended by playing less than he was forced to play from 2014-15 through ‘16-17, when he averaged 66 appearances per year.

He does know a good gig when he sees one, though, and starting in 2017-18 when his workload was reduced to 54 games (splitting time with then-backup Anton Khudobin), his performance has improved.

“We don't want me playing 60, 70 games,” said Rask, who played 46 a year ago and sits at 41 this season (which officially still has 12 games remaining).

“If you look at my career, I've probably played my best in a 1A/1B situation, and both goalies have kind of gotten playing time. Then you're fresh going into the playoffs.”

With a league-high 100 points, the B's are definitely going to the playoffs, and freshness won't be an issue: The pause of two months and counting will give Rask the equivalent of a full offseason, and he thinks the probability of a few weeks of re-training camp, followed by a handful of starts, would have him physically ready for the postseason.

Whether he'll be prepared mentally to jump right into playoffs may be another matter but he's not dwelling on that

“It's going to be the same for everybody,” Rask said. “But it'll be super interesting to see how it plays out, if we start playing and practicing.

“Once we get into small group workouts and whatnot, and get the ball rolling from there, I'm sure everybody starts feeling comfortable playing hockey again. And then, whatever kind of season we have, it's going to be hockey like it used to be for us.”

That's not a prediction that the Bruins will pick up where they left off, which was on a 14-4-0 streak after their All-Star break and bye week.

“I think the fact that we were on a great run before the season went on pause, and we had a good feeling about finishing off the season and going into the playoffs — that's out the door now,” he said. “Our challenge is how we can recapture that if we start playing — individually and collectively.”

Rask can, however, count on continued intense scrutiny. He's aware that a Jennings or Vezina Trophy (he won that one, awarded to the NHL's top goalie, in 2013-14) won't satisfy Bruins fans who focus far more on the fact that, while he has reached the Cup Final as a No. 1 goalie in 2013 and again last season, he hasn't won.

“It comes with the territory in a town like this,” Rask said. “Obviously, this city is known for winning championships. You're known and measured by winning championships.

“It would be nice to be known as a champion in (2013 and ‘19), but it didn't happen, and we just have to live with that … Hopefully there's some more years left, and even maybe a championship in the future.”

And that future may last for a while.

“You'll play as long as you can, and your body feels healthy, and you want to keep doing it,” Rask said. “So far, I still have that passion for winning and playing. The winning drives me.

“I haven't put a number into what age it might be, but we'll see. Maybe it's 36, 37, maybe it's 42 … Maybe I'll be the goalie who plays ‘til 45 -- and maybe not.”