The Boston Bruins said that goaltender Tuukka Rask played through a torn hip labrum this season in his season-ending interview. Rask will undergo surgery to repair the damage this off-season.
🎥 Tuukka Rask reveals that he played through a torn hip labrum this season that will require surgery and talks about wanting to return to the #NHLBruins next season: "I'm not going to play for anybody else but the Bruins. This is our home." pic.twitter.com/EbBsppL1Gf
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) June 11, 2021
Tuukka Rask Played Through Hip Injury
The 34-year-old goaltender added that he is expected to be ready to resume playing between January and February. He also confirmed that the injury was a part of what led him to miss 32 regular-season games. After the 5-4 loss to the New York Islanders on June 7, the Boston head coach Bruce Cassidy admitted Rask was not 100 percent.
“There was some maintenance that needed to be done. He wasn’t 100%, wasn’t himself. He could have been back in. We made the decision not to put him back in.” Cassidy said after being questioned why he pulled Rask for the third period of Game 5.
During the entire regular season, Rask was haunted by injuries, having played only 24 games of the 56 games. Goaltenders Jaroslav Halak and the rookie Jeremy Swayman split the net when Boston’s number one wasn’t available.
Even though he was in his best shape, the Finnish netminder was able to help the Bruins get to the second round of the playoffs. After closing the Washington Capitals in five games, they were defeated by the Islanders in six games.
What This Means For The Future
Rask is now an unrestricted free agent, which means that once the free agency is open, he can test the market and sign with whoever he wants. That doesn’t mean the goaltender is looking forward to it. When questioned if he wants to stay in Boston, Rask answered:
“Like I’ve said before, I’m not gonna play for anybody else but the Bruins. This is our home. […] At this point in my career I don’t see any reason to go anywhere else.”
The unfortunate thing is that what he wants and what the Bruins want may not be the same thing. As seen in the past off-season, Boston’s goal seems to be building a younger and stronger team now. However, they might offer him a team-friendly deal as he has expressed his wishes to stay. Even though there will be a lot of talks about a future contract, the thing that matters the most now is his full recovery and health.
