Tuukka Rask leaves no doubt about his exit from the Toronto bubble.
Rask left the bubble before game 3 of the Boston Bruins’ first round of the Stanley Cup playoff series for what was later revealed as a family emergency. He never returned to Toronto since the Bruins were eliminated by eventual champion Tampa Bay Lightning in the next round, so his appearance on the training ground is the first time he has been seen in a long time.
Rask indicated on Wednesday how terrible it was for him to return to Boston.
“It was a difficult decision to leave, but it wasn’t because I knew it was more important for me to be home at the time, so it was easy to live with,” said Rask during a Zoom conference. “But also, on the other hand, knowing that you can’t be there, you should be playing hockey, so it’s hard to watch the games – you’re kind of stuck in this middle, your brain is kind of spinning around in that point of knowing that you’re in the right place at home, but then again, you should be there. So it was difficult for a few weeks, but it helped (that) I was talking a lot with (Bruins goalkeeper Jaroslav Halak), I was talking to several guys who supported it, they knew what was going on. That’s it.
“(An emergency) was the reason I left,” said Rask later. “I got a call the night before – it all happened so fast that I think (Bruins general manager Don Sweeney) was taken aback too. I got a call the night before saying that our daughter really wasn’t doing well at the time, they had to call an ambulance and everything. So obviously, at that point, my mind was spinning, I was thinking, ‘I need to get out of here.’ Then, the next morning, I informed (Sweeney) and we had a brief conversation and then I just left. “
Since returning to Boston, Rask and his family have stood still, choosing not to return to Finland for a long period of time. He has been in contact with teammates periodically, and making his return to camp has not been strange.
“No problem getting in here,” said Rask. “We stayed in touch all summer and talked about everything in life with teammates, and there’s no problem going back.”
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy indicated on Tuesday that Rask appeared to be in a good position, estimating that the goalkeeper is likely to reach somewhere around 33-34 games this season.
Miniature photo via John E. Sokolowski / USA TODAY Sports Images