Boston Bruins

Decorated Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask, who was attempting a comeback with the team after undergoing offseason hip surgery, has announced his retirement after 15 NHL seasons:

Rask worked as the backup goaltender to Tim Thomas during the 2010-11 Bruins' Stanley Cup-winning season. He also served as the team's top netminder for the 2012-13 and 2018-19 Eastern Conference champions.

No goaltender has ever played more games for the Bruins than Rask, who also owns the franchise record in wins. He retires with a 308-165-66 record, 2.28 GAA and .921 save percentage.

The 34-year-old is a two-time All-Star Game participant who won the 2013-14 Vezina Trophy after going 36-15-6 with a 2.04 GAA and .930 save percentage. In addition, he won the bronze medal with Finland at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Rask underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip, which had bothered him during the 2020-21 season. In his absence, the team has rolled with Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman in net.

He entered the offseason as a free agent and said he'd only return to playing if it was with Boston. That was the case as he inked a one-year deal with the team on Jan. 11.

Regarding why he chose to come back, Rask said the following to reporters on Zoom (h/t NESN's Lauren Campbell):

I think the biggest motivation is to play with the group I played with my whole career and to have another chance to win. That’s about it. When you do a surgery like that, for a goalie, it’s a pretty significant injury, it takes a lot of time to recover. When you try to come back you don’t know how it’s going to react and whatnot. So, I’m just trying to get back in the groove of things, play some solid hockey and go from there.

Rask played four games for the Bruins from Jan. 13-24, going 2-2 with a 4.28 GAA and a .844 save percentage.

After a 5-3 loss to against the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 24, Rask told reporters he was experiencing hip discomfort. He went on injured reserve. 

On Wednesday, Fluto Shinwaza of The Athletic reported that the Bruins were not expecting Rask to continue his comeback. Shinwaza reported further that Rask was discussing his future with his family and that a retirement decision could be imminent.

Rask has chosen that route, ending his 15-year NHL career.

Following Rask's retirement, the Bruins released a tribute video in his honor:

The Bruins have never retired a goaltender's number and sent it to the rafters, but Rask's No. 40 figures to have his spot at TD Garden someday.

The historic home of the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park, will host the Boston Bruins and an as-yet-unannounced opponent at the 2023 Winter Classic, the NHL announced Friday. 

This is the second time Fenway Park will host the Winter Classic. The legendary ballpark first hosted the event in 2010, when the Bruins defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 in overtime courtesy of a Marco Sturm goal.

The Bruins will be competing in their fifth regular-season outdoor game in 2023. In addition to hosting the Flyers in 2010, the Bruins also hosted the Montreal Canadiens at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, in the 2016 Winter Classic. They lost 5-1. 

The Bruins also played the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2019 Winter Classic at Notre Dame Stadium, winning 4-2. Most recently, the Black and Gold defeated the Flyers 7-3 last February at the NHL Outdoors game at Lake Tahoe.

The NHL began the Winter Classic tradition in 2008 in Buffalo.

With their 2023 appearance, the Bruins will tie the Blackhawks for the most appearances in Winter Classic history with four. The Buffalo Sabres, New York Rangers, Washington Capitals, St. Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers have all appeared in the event twice. 

The Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild have also competed in the Winter Classic. 

The Boston Bruins retired the No. 22 jersey on Tuesday night in honor of Willie O'Ree, the first Black player in the NHL.

Though the 86-year-old didn't appear in person for the ceremony held ahead of the Bruins' game against the Carolina Hurricanes, he offered remarks shown on the video board at TD Garden.

"To the Bruins fans, I am honored to have had the pleasure of playing before you," O'Ree said in the video. "Thank you for your tremendous love and support. This is an unforgettable day. I am overwhelmed and thrilled to be a part of the Bruins forever. Thank you."

O'Ree also discussed his start with the Bruins in 1958 after being told by doctors he would never play again:

The Canadian only appeared in 45 games across two seasons with the Bruins, totaling four goals and 10 assists. But his impact went far beyond his production on the ice.

In 2018, O'Ree was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a "builder" due to his efforts in helping grow the game.

He is now the 12th player in Bruins history to have his number retired. 

Tuukka Rask will return to the Boston Bruins after the team agreed to a one-year deal with the veteran goalie, the team announced Tuesday. 

According to Jimmy Golen of the Associated Press, Rask will make $545,000 under the prorated contract.

Rask was released from his professional tryout contract with the AHL's Providence Bruins on Tuesday before agreeing to a new contract. It's unclear when he will make his 2021-22 season debut. 

The 34-year-old was limited by injuries in 2020-21 and only appeared in 24 regular-season games. He underwent surgery in July to repair a torn labrum in his hip.

Rask remained a difference-maker when healthy, ranking ninth in the NHL with a 2.28 goals-against average. He led the Bruins to the second round of the playoffs with a 2.36 GAA and .919 save percentage in the postseason.

It came after Rask, along with teammate Jaroslav Halak, won the Jennings Trophy in 2019-20 with a league-best 2.12 GAA while finishing second in voting for the Vezina Trophy.

This was a continuation of a brilliant career for the Finnish star, who has two All-Star selections and the 2014 Vezina on his resume over his 14 seasons in the NHL, all with the Bruins.

Rask clarified before last season he wanted to remain in Boston if given the opportunity.

"I've said before I have no intention of playing anywhere else but the Bruins, so if I'm good enough to play one, two, three more years then so be it," he told reporters in January. "If not, then so be it. So that's where my head is at."

The two sides were able to work out a deal to keep the longtime Bruin between the pipes.

With Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark also playing well, the Bruins (19-11-2) are seemingly in good shape at the position for 2021-22.

Former Vezina Trophy winner Tuukka Rask is attempting to resume his NHL career. 

Per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski, Rask has signed a tryout contract with the Providence Bruins of the AHL. 

Wyshynski noted Rask is expected to make his first appearance for the Bruins on Friday against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Following the Boston Bruins' playoff loss to the New York Islanders, Rask told reporters he played last season with a torn labrum in his hip that would require surgery: 

Start the recovery process and then we'll see what the future holds after that. Hopefully the recovery goes well and I'll be ready to play hockey at some point next year…mentally, I'm up for [continuing to play]. The physical aspect, hopefully everything goes well, then we'll probably be looking at a January or February return to hockey. That's kind of the plan, and hopefully it works out.

During that same press conference, Rask said he's "not going to play for anyone else" other than the Boston Bruins.

Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters on Tuesday that he likes what he's seen from Rask during practice sessions in recent weeks. 

“He looks good. I’ve watched him for years, so I’m stating the obvious. He’s an excellent goaltender, technically sound. Not a lot of wasted movements for Tuukka,” Cassidy said.

The 34-year-old was originally drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2005, but he was traded to Boston for Andrew Raycroft before the start of the season.

The Bruins called Rask up to their roster in November 2007. He only appeared in five games over his first two seasons before becoming Boston's starting goalie for the 2009-10 season. The Finland native led the NHL in save percentage (93.1) and goals against average (1.97) in 45 games that season. 

Rask ranks first in Bruins history among goaltenders in games played (560) and wins (306). He's tied with Tim Thomas for best save percentage in franchise history (92.1) among goalies with at least 100 appearances. 

He led the Bruins to the Stanley Cup title in the 2010-11 season and won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's best goaltender for the 2013-14 season. 

Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman are Boston's primary goalies this season. The duo has a 17-10-2 record with a 2.39 goals against average and a 91.8 save percentage. 

The Bruins are currently one point ahead of the Detroit Red Wings for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.    

Brad Marchand is not happy with the NHL's decision to withhold its players from the 2022 Winter Olympics. 

The Boston Bruins forward called it "bulls--t" on Twitter:

It wasn't the only comments Marchand has made on the matter:

The NHL temporarily halted the season last week through Dec. 28 and said it would use the Olympic break (Feb. 6-22) to help make up the games it has already had to postpone this season. 

"Given the profound disruption to the NHL's regular-season schedule caused by recent COVID-related events ... Olympic participation is no longer feasible," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement last week.

NHLPA executive director Don Fehr added in a statement:

Until very recently, we seemed to be on a clear path to go to Beijing. COVID-19 has unfortunately intervened, forcing dozens of games to be postponed this month alone. No matter how much we wish it were not the case, we need to utilize the Olympic period to reschedule these games.

Certainly, the players and hockey fans are quite disappointed. But playing a full 82-game season this year, something the pandemic has prevented us from doing since the 2018-19 season, is very important. We expect that NHL players will return to the Olympics in 2026.​”

Marchand wasn't alone in being unhappy with the league and NHLPA's decision. His teammate, Patrice Bergeron, was also hoping to compete at one last Olympics:

"The whole thing is so disappointing," Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid added while speaking to reporters over the weekend. "It's hard to really put into words what I think a lot of guys are feeling, especially the guys that haven't gotten to go before. Now, we're missing it for the second time in a row. We can't dwell on it."

The NHL has postponed three more games this week because of COVID-19, the league announced Sunday. The Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Columbus Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators are the teams impacted.

The NHL and NHL Players Association also agreed to the reintroduction of taxi squads in order to provide teams with players who can be recalled to avoid having games postponed in the future. 

Each team will be allowed to have a taxi squad of up to six players. In addition, teams are allowed to make emergency recalls from the minors if COVID-19 were to prevent them from playing with a full lineup. 

Taxi squads will be in effect until at least the All-Star break in February. Players on the taxi squad will count as being in the for the salary cap and can be there for a minimum of 20 days. 

The NHL also had taxi squads during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season. 

Several players have entered COVID-19 health and safety protocols since returning from the holiday break, including Bruins forward Charlie Coyle, Maple Leafs forward Williams Nylander and Penguins forward Evan Rodrigues. 

The NHL began its holiday break earlier than expected this year because of a rise in positive COVID-19 cases across the league. Every team was shut down beginning Dec. 22, though most were on pause before that point. 

Several teams are set to return to action on Tuesday, including the Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, Vegas Golden Knights, Los Angeles Kings, Arizona Coyotes and San Jose Sharks.

Because of postponements across the league and rise in COVID-19 cases, the NHL and NHLPA also recently decided that players would not attend the Winter Olympics in Beijing. The league needs the two-week break in the February schedule to make up more than 50 postponed games.  

The Nashville Predators and Boston Bruins became the fourth and fifth NHL teams to be shut down through the holiday break Saturday due to COVID-19 issues.

The clubs join the Colorado Avalanche, Calgary Flames and Florida Panthers as teams that have been shut down this week.

Nashville has seen several players and coaches placed in COVID-19 protocols this week, and its scheduled game against the Flames on Tuesday was postponed due to Calgary's COVID-19 issues.

Per Paul Skrbina of the Tennessean, a total of 11 Predators players and coaches had been placed in COVID protocols as of Thursday.

Among them were forwards Ryan Johansen, Mikael Granlund, Matt Luff, Michael McCarron, Philip Tomasino and Nick Cousins, defenseman Ben Harpur and head coach John Hynes.

Nashville did play Thursday and Friday, beating the Avalanche 5-2 and then defeating the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 in overtime.

The Preds are in the midst of a seven-game winning streak and are 19-10-1 overall on the season.

Their 39 points are second to only the Minnesota Wild's 40 in the Central Division, and they are tied for third overall in the Western Conference with the St. Louis Blues behind the Wild and Anaheim Ducks.

With each of their next two games postponed, the Predators are not scheduled to play again until Dec. 27 against the Dallas Stars on the road.

As of Thursday, the Bruins had placed seven players and one staffer into COVID-19 protocols.

Forwards Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Craig Smith and goalie Jeremy Swayman headlined the list of players unavailable to the Bruins. They were joined by forwards Trent Frederic, Anton Blidh and Oskar Steen.

A shorthanded Bruins team fell 3-1 to the New York Islanders on Thursday, and their scheduled game against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday was subsequently postponed.

Next Thursday's game against the Avalanche was also postponed due to an outbreak within the Avs organization.

Boston's shutdown means it won't play Sunday against the Ottawa Senators nor Tuesday against the Hurricanes.

The Bruins, who have lost two games in a row, are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division with 30 points. They are in ninth place in the conference overall, leaving them outside the playoff positions.

Boston's next scheduled game is now a home tilt with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 27.

The NHL announced Friday that Saturday's game between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens has been postponed.

Boston had seven players and one staff member in the league's COVID-19 protocols as of Thursday night.

No make-up date for Saturday's contest, which was slated to take place at the Bell Centre in Montreal, was immediately established.

The Bruins played Thursday's game against the New York Islanders as scheduled. They suffered a 3-1 loss.

Boston winger Nick Foligno didn't mince words when asked about what the team went through leading up to the clash with the Isles.

"It's been a nightmare, to be honest with you," Foligno told reporters.

Meanwhile, Habs winger Jonathan Drouin raised concerns about playing the B's amid their COVID-19 outbreak.

"That's a tough question to answer, but I wouldn't be that comfortable playing with guys who might have COVID or against a team that's had seven cases; tomorrow morning there might be three more or two more, we don't know," Drouin said Thursday. "I don't feel comfortable playing with that. It's not what we were told this year with the vaccines and all that. For sure, things change in times like this, but it's really not ideal."

The Bruins aren't the only team going through coronavirus issues. The Calgary Flames had their past four games postponed with 18 players and three coaches in the protocols.

It's also an issue that extends beyond the NHL with the NFL, NBA and England's Premier League among the numerous sports entities dealing with a surge of COVID-19 cases.

For now, Boston's road game against the Ottawa Senators remains scheduled for Sunday.

Montreal is slated to begin a six-game road trip Monday when it visits the Islanders.

Boston Bruins winger Brad Marchand was placed in the NHL's COVID-19 protocol Tuesday.

Marchand joins Bruins forward Craig Smith in protocols.

The Bruins are set to host the Las Vegas Golden Knights later Tuesday night. Marchand's and Smith's placement in the protocols comes three days after Boston visited the Calgary Flames, who had six players and a staff member placed in protocols Monday. The NHL postponed Calgary's next three games. 

A player must sit out 10 days or provide two negative tests 24 hours apart in order to be cleared for a return to game action.

Marchand has 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) in 21 games this season.