The Boston Bruins may have a hard time staying under the salary cap for the 2013-14 NHL season, as the club announced on that they have re-signed Finnish goaltender Tuukka Rask for another eight seasons.Rask’s annual salary will be $7 million while the entire contract will cost the Bruins $56 million. Rask was one of the top goaltenders in the league last season with a record of 19-10-5. He also posted five shutouts and had a save percentage of 92.9 along with a goals-against average of just 2.00 per game.
The 26-year-old then raised his game to a higher level in the Stanley Cup playoffs with a save percentage of 94, which was tops in the league in postseason play. He was also fourth in goals-against average in the playoffs at 1.88 and his three shutouts were good enough to tie him for first place.
However, Rask’s heroics didn’t result in a second Stanley Cup in three seasons for the Bruins. They lost the Cup Final at home in six games to the Chicago Blackhawks.
It was Chicago’s second Stanley Cup triumph in the past four seasons. They won Game 6 by a 3-2 score by scoring the tying and winning goals just 17 seconds apart late in the third period. Rask was devastated after the late-game collapse, but is happy to have signed a long-term deal with the Bruins. He said it would be ideal if he could spend his entire NHL career with the team.
Rask set a new Bruins record during the playoffs as he set a home playoff shutout streak of 193 minutes and 16 seconds. The streak started in the fourth game of the Eastern Conference Final and extended to the third contest of the Final against Chicago.
In the 2011-12 season, Rask was the backup goalie to Tim Thomas and played in just 23 regular season games. He posted a record of 11-8-3 with a goals-against average of 2.05 to go along with his 92.9 save percentage.
The year before, Rask led the league in goals-against average at 1.97 and in save percentage at 93.1. He also won a then-career high 22 games. He became the first goaltender in Boston to finish the season with a goals-against average below 2.00 since the 1998-99 season. His 1.97 average was the best for a Bruins goalie since the 1938-39 season.
After the finals loss to Chicago, Rask said he has always wanted to prove he was capable of playing in the NHL and believes his statistics have shown he can.
He has played in 138 regular games with Boston and has a record of 66-45-16 along with 16 shutouts. His career save percentage in 92.7 with a goals-against average of 2.15 GAA and a .927 save percentage. Rask has competed in 35 postseason games with a record of 21-14, a save percentage of 93 and a 2.15 goals-against average.
Boston acquired Rask in the summer of 2006 when they traded goaltender Andrew Raycroft to the Toronto Maple Leafs for their first selection in the 2005 NHL Draft. The Bruins then chose him with the 21st pick overall.
