Report: Tuukka Rask Ending Comeback Bid With Bruins, May Retire From Hockey This Week
BOSTON (CBS) -- Tuukka Rask's comeback was halted before it could really begin. And it's forcing the goaltender to hang up his skates for good.
That's according to The Athletic's Fluto Shinzawa, who reported Tuesday night that "the Bruins are not expecting Tuukka Rask to continue his comeback" and that Rask "may finalize his retirement decision in the next few days" after talking with his family.
Rask underwent surgery to repair a torn hip labrum last summer, after his contract with the Bruins expired. All along, he said he wanted to play again and that he'd only want to play for the Bruins. The team honored those desires by allowing Rask to practice with the team in November and December, before formally signing him to a one-year contract in January.
Rask's tune-up work in the AHL was canceled, due to the opposing team dealing with COVID cases, and Rask was thrust back into NHL action on Jan. 13. He won that game, stopping 25 of 27 shots, but he struggled in his following start, when he was pulled after allowing five goals on 12 shots in the first period against Carolina. He rebounded to allow just two goals on 24 shots in a win against Winnipeg, before allowing five goals on 27 shots against in a loss to Anaheim on Jan. 24.
That was Rask's last time on the ice, as he's been dealing with "lingering effects" of his offseason surgery.
The 34-year-old Rask is the Bruins' all-time leader in wins, with 308, and he ranks second in franchise history in save percentage at .9210, just behind Tim Thomas at .9214.
"He did everything right. He just didn't feel as good as he thought he would," a source told Shinzawa.
