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Boston Bruins: Tuukka Rask deserves an apology

By Sam Minton

TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 13: Tuukka Rask #40 of the Boston Bruins allows a goal to Dougie Hamilton (not pictured) of the Carolina Hurricanes during the third period in Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 13, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 13: Tuukka Rask #40 of the Boston Bruins allows a goal to Dougie Hamilton (not pictured) of the Carolina Hurricanes during the third period in Game Two of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 13, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Boston Bruins goaltender decided to opt-out of the rest of the NHL Playoffs and he deserves an apology after how his decision was received.

The Boston Bruins won Game Three on Saturday afternoon without Tuukka Rask and they will have to do so for the rest of the playoffs.

What fans should’ve been focused on was the results of Game Three, but that wasn’t the case. All eyes were on Rask.

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Rask decided to opt-out of the bubble and return to his family. This was basically the equivalent of dropping a nuke in Boston.

The takes were flying and the Bruins fanbase showed it’s toxicity. People were ripping Rask for leaving the bubble. Some of these people were even commentators (shoutout Mike Milbury for making me wonder why he is still employed by NBC Sports). These people made it seem like Rask got bored and wanted to leave.

If you are ripping Rask for leaving the bubble, I would recommend taking a step back. I would recommend that you put yourself in his shoes. Also, we have no idea what is going on. There could be some sort of emergency going on and Rask doesn’t need to tell any of us about his life.

Now I would be lying if I said I wasn’t stunned. My instant reaction was just to say wow. Losing one of the best goaltenders in the NHL is a major blow.

But let’s remember the times we are living in. We are in the middle of a pandemic. Hockey isn’t that important in the grand scheme of things.

We are in no position to question Rask’s decision. He is a human being with a family. It was rather clear that his head wasn’t in the game. He was thinking about his family or something that was causing him stress. At the end of the day, the best thing for Rask is to leave.

Also, Rask has a newborn at home. Put yourself in these player’s shoes, they deserve a lot of credit for going and no backlash for leaving.

There is also the mental side of things. Being away from your family and trapped in a bubble isn’t the best thing for someone’s mental health.

If we are going to champion mental health on social media we can’t pick and choose when we do so. Rask seemed to not be in the greatest mindset. Even though all goalies seem a little off, Rask was just a little bit extra in recent weeks.

Rask’s legacy shouldn’t take a hit for leaving the bubble. He is still one of the best goaltenders in franchise history.

But for his haters, this is just more ammo. They were glowing after hearing the news, but I think Rask doesn’t really care about their opinions.

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I hope Rask knows that Bruins fans have his back and we hope he is doing okay. Life and family are much more important than playing hockey in the middle of a pandemic.

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