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Busy B's - June 11, 2021 - By Matt Kalman
IN TERMS OF PERFORMANCE, Tuukka Rask’s 2020-21 campaign was right in line with recent seasons. His regular-season save percentage of .913 and goals saved above average of 3.3 were on par with what he produced in 2018-19, when he led Boston to the Stanley Cup final.
From a health standpoint, however, it was one of Rask’s worst since he became an NHL regular in 2009-10, as he missed 18 games with various ailments. But if there was a silver lining to his absence – and a stretch of games where backup Jaroslav Halak was also unavailable because of injury – it was a chance for the Bruins to catch a glimpse of their future in goal.
Jeremy Swayman, a first-year pro out of the University of Maine, won seven of 10 NHL starts and posted a 1.50 goals-against average in the regular season before earning the job as Rask’s backup for the playoffs. The timing of Swayman’s arrival as a legitimate option for Boston couldn’t have been more impeccable, because Rask is among a group of Bruins UFAs this off-season who could depart and accelerate GM Don Sweeney’s reboot of the roster. Centers David Krejci and Sean Kuraly, left winger Taylor Hall and defensemen Kevan Miller and Mike Reilly will also be UFAs. This leaves Sweeney with some difficult decisions about whether he has the necessary internal replacements to let the bulk of his UFAs leave or has to allocate cap space to keep them around a little longer.
Ex-Bruins Forward Signs PTO With Pacific Club
According to The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta, former <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins">Boston Bruins</a> forward Oliver Wahlstrom has signed a professional tryout (PTO) with the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks">San Jose Sharks</a>. In addition, Pagnotta reported that Wahlstrom will sign an American Hockey League (AHL) deal with the San Jose Barracuda if he does not earn an NHL contract for the season from the Sharks.
Rask and Krejci, in particular, have been key pieces of a Bruins team that’s been to the Cup final three times in the past 11 years, including 2011 when they won it all. But they’re both in their mid-30s. Discussions with both were tabled until after the season. “Well, we’ll have to see how we can make things work,” said president Cam Neely.
Since Sweeney took over as GM in 2015, the Bruins have stressed rebooting instead of rebuilding. Their latest reboot started with last year’s departures of captain Zdeno Chara and offensive defenseman Torey Krug. Boston went with youth to replace them on the back end, with varying results from the likes of Jeremy Lauzon, Jakub Zboril and Urho Vaakanainen. Eventually, the Bruins made a trade for Mike Reilly to complement their core group of Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo and Matt Grzelcyk.
A similar retool will have to happen up front if Krejci and Kuraly depart. Jack Studnicka could compete with Charlie Coyle to replace Krejci on the second line, with Trent Frederic in the mix to push for more bottom-six minutes. But during the Bruins’ run of success, they’ve often picked near the bottom of the first round, and twice in the past four years Sweeney has traded Boston’s first-round selection to bolster the lineup before the trade deadline. That has left the Bruins with a prospect pool ranked by most experts (including The Hockey News’ Future Watch) in the bottom tier of the league.
So within the environment of the flat salary cap, Sweeney will have to work his magic to retain his veterans, including Rask and Krejci, for another run or two. Remember, this is the GM who signed Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak to way-below-market deals and who, as assistant GM, also played a role in inking Bergeron to a team-friendly contract. Signing his stars to the Beantown discount allowed Sweeney to build a supporting cast that would keep his top line in Cup contention without ever having to rebuild.
McAvoy and Carlo, similarly, helped Sweeney out by taking shorter term on their second contracts. However, it remains to be seen how hard they’ll be to re-sign on their third deals, with Carlo becoming an RFA this off-season and McAvoy in 2022. Eventually Bergeron, who’s under contract for one more season, will probably sign another extension at a hometown discount for however much longer he wants to play, and the Bruins will hope their younger stars follow suit. Starting with Chara’s pair of one-year, incentive-laden contracts, and continuing with Bergeron and his linemates, the Bruins have established a culture of prioritizing winning over maxing out contract earnings. That’s been reflected on the ice. “We’re blessed to have the leadership group that we’ve had for the past decade, I think it starts there,” Neely said. “When you introduce new players to the organization, they either have to buy in or we’ll find others that will. It’s also character, you’ve got to have the right players with the right character that know what it means to play here.”
There’s no guarantee that Swayman is Rask’s heir apparent or that the Bruins are ready to move on from the winningest goaltender in team history – or that they’ll be able to sufficiently replace any of their free agents. What is certain, though, is that after years of postponing the rebuild, the decisions Sweeney makes this off-season will determine how much longer he can put it off.
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