You are Tuukka Rask, one of the best goaltenders in the world, and you are smiling and optimistic despite a blue line that appears to be steadily deteriorating since your team lifted the Stanley Cup in 2011.
The summer after you capture the Vezina Trophy, you lose one of your best defencemen, Johnny Boychuk. The result? A missed post-season following summer, despite your 34 wins and .922 save percentage. Then your new general manager trades away another top-four defenceman in Dougie Hamilton.
In our recent sit-down with the Boston Bruins‘ last line of defence, Rask, 28, talks about the value of tennis to his training, when back-to-backs get rough, and what it’s like when your GM keeps trading away key defenders.
SPORTSNET.CA: What was the highlight of your summer?
TUUKKA RASK: A trip to Paris and London with my girlfriend [Jasmiina Nikkila]. We have a baby daughter now, Vivien – she’s 16 months old – so we’re spending most of our time with her. It was cool to spend time with the lady. I really loved Paris. Paris was awesome. I’d never been there before. A great walking city. Food was great, people were great. And we went to Wimbledon in London.
Oh, yeah, you’re a big tennis guy. Had you been before?
No.
Who do you root for?
I’ve been a [Rafael] Nadal fan for many years, but I don’t have a guy. I like good matches. Roger [Federer] is obviously great. It’s tough to pick one.
How often do you play yourself?
During summer, four or five times a week. During the season, never. It’s just a summer thing and a great workout. Back home there’s no clubs. You just go, you pay and you play, so it’s different from the States. I got a lot of friends at the same level who play, and we have good matches, and I also do it to work out with a buddy of mine who coaches [tennis].
Do tennis skills translate to goaltending?
I think so. You get the hand-eye workout, and you get the quick feet going. So you’re pretty much doing what you’d be doing without the balls. You’re just adding a fun element to it by swinging a racquet.
What did you make of all the Bruins’ off-season changes?
It was bound to happen. Everybody expected us to make some changes. It’s sad to see Looch [Milan Lucic] gone and Soupy [Gregory Campbell] gone and a bunch of other people. These things happen nowadays. Teams change, and you have to deal with it. We’re going to have a great team out there, so it’s exciting.
“Losing Johnny Boychuk was a big blow. I don’t think we realized how big he was until we saw him gone.”
So Johnny Boychuk leaves one summer and Dougie Hamilton the next. Boston is leaking top defencemen. Is part of you thinking, Hey, help me out here?
Not really. Losing Johnny was a big blow. I don’t think we realized how big he was until we saw him gone. He was with us until training camp. The trade happened last second. It was really frustrating for all of us, and everybody knows how good of a player he is now. We’ve got so many good, young D’s coming up that I’ll think we’ll be set.
From a goalie’s perspective, what did the Bruins lose and the Flames gain in Dougie Hamilton?
He’s really a skilled offensive, big guy. The first year he was trying to find his way in the defensive zone, and last year he got really good at it. You could tell he matured a lot and felt comfortable out there. He can play defence, but he’s really got that offensive side to him too.
Some mystery around who your backup will be this year. What do you think of Malcolm Subban?
I haven’t seen him that much, to be honest. He was up last year for a little bit. Other than that I haven’t seen him, but I’ve heard he’s a great goalie. He’s a great guy, I know that.
In a perfect world, how many starts do you get?
Tough to put a number to it. If you look at the starters, they play 55 to 75 games. It varies on the situation with your team. I’m sure it lands somewhere in there.
Do we make too much of the risks of back-to-back starts? Are they over-hyped?
It all depends on what kind of game you have the first night. If you face 50 shots and the next game is in the afternoon, that can be difficult. But back-to-backs aren’t tough. We had a lot of cases where we played three games in four nights. So after a back-to-back, if you only rest one game and play that third game, then it becomes tough. Back to back, you can run on fumes if you need to. Then it takes a couple days to recover.
How often do you change your pads?
Twice a year. Maybe three times.
I understand some goalies want the puck to rebound away as far as possible and others want it to drop right at their feet. Which do you prefer?
Either way, as long as it’s not in between. The in-between phase is the worst one. You don’t want to deal with rebounds that are just out of your reach. Then you’re in danger. The pads I use are really good when they’re new, and then they get soft quickly, so I don’t have a long in-between phase.
Thoughts on 3-on-3 overtime?
I don’t mind it. It’ll be exciting. Good for the fans. I’d rather get the solution 3-on-3 than in a shootout.
Even though it might hurt your save percentage?
So be it. Just stop the puck so it doesn’t hurt.
