The work done by new Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney thus far during his still-short tenure has not exactly engendered feelings of positivity and warmth between the former long-time Bruins player and the black and gold faithful.
By dealing young stud defenseman Dougie Hamilton and former franchise cornerstone Milan Lucic, Sweeney seemed to indicate that he would be taking an approach to the Boston roster most could rightly consider something of a rebuild. Sweeney, talking to reporters on Tuesday, denied that was the case.
Now, a report has emerged regarding stud netminder Tuukka Rask which could again raise the specter of that ill-omened 'r' word.
"I can tell you that there was speculation, again, on that draft floor - three different teams approached me on Friday to suggest that Tuukka Rask might be in play," said TSN's Darren Dreger while appearing on Montreal's TSN 690 on Tuesday, via TodaysSlapShot.com. "And if in fact that were the case, man - it's almost like, 'Turn off the lights, the party's over in Boston,' (laughs) because I think there would have been complete upheaval."
The Hamilton trade was widely panned - though HNGN passed along a report that Hamilton's personality could have played a part in the decision to deal him, not to mention it's often difficult to judge the value of a trade in the immediate aftermath of it's completion - and the Lucic deal was received with more positive, if still ultimately lukewarm feelings.
Trading a 2017 third-round pick for Zac Rinaldo seems like a head-scratcher, and the deal for Adam McQuaid isn't going to suddenly garner high marks for Sweeney, but nothing would seem as farfetched or insane as the suggestion that Sweeney and Bruins president Cam Neely were considering a trade of a player in Rask who has a Vezina Trophy, an All-Star selection, a career .926 save percentage and a career 2.17 goals against average to his name.
"But I got to Don Sweeney and asked him point-blank, and I can tell you he was not a happy camper," said Dreger. "His anger and frustration wasn't directed at me for asking the question, it was kind of pointed toward the lunacy of suggesting that he was about to trade Tuukka Rask."
Lunacy is probably the right word. Rask, just 28, finished last season - a down year for the entire Bruins organization - with a .922 save percentage and a 2.30 goals against average in 70 games of work. Malcolm Subban and Zane McIntyre, while talented, are not yet ready to assume a full-time position at the NHL level.
The recently-acquired Martin Jones has indicated that he feels he's ready to be the No. 1 guy, but he appeared in just 15 games last year for the Kings, amassing a .906 save percentage and a 2.25 goals against average. The most games he's appeared in during an NHL season is 19 in 2013-14.
In short, it really does seem - from the outside at least - that the idea of moving Rask is beyond insane. He's currently set to enter the third year of an eight-year, $56 million contract extension he signed with the team in 2013. It carries a no move clause through 2016, an eight-team no trade clause through 2017-18 and a 15-team no trade clause through 2018-2020.
Sweeney, during his chat with reporters on Tuesday, was clear and concise when asked about the possibility of moving Rask - "Tuukka Rask is not on the market," he said, via Yahoo Sports' Greg Wyshynski.
Still, while it's possible the reports of Rask's potential availability are simply fabricated nonsense, rumors of this magnitude rarely originate from thin air.
"But given everything that had gone into that day and leading up to the trades that he had made... I think there must have been reasons for these teams to leap to the conclusion that Tuukka Rask might be in play," said Dreger.
"So, we're still wondering - even though, again, Sweeney made it clear Tuukka Rask isn't going anywhere - you do have to wonder, 'Okay, what's next? Where are they headed?'
"Most believe, understandably, they didn't get enough in some of the deals that they made. So what direction are the Bruins going in and I'm not sure they know that."
