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Longtime Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask officially announced his retirement from the NHL. Rask spent his entire 15-year career with the Bruins and retired at 34 years old.
The team tweeted his retirement announcement Wednesday afternoon.
A statement from Tuukka Rask.#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/Lae4E8rLfI
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 9, 2022
“Today is a day that I hoped would never come. But now that it's here, I feel I owe it to everyone to hear it from me…it is with a heavy heart that I announce my retirement from the game of hockey,” Rask's statement said.
He explained that he made his decision over the past few weeks.
“I've realized that my body is not responding the way it needs to for me to play at the level I expect of myself and that my teammates and Bruins fans deserve,” Rask wrote.
The Bruins goalie missed the first few months of the season due to hip surgery he had over the summer. He was working to recover and play his “best hockey again” this season.
However, he only played in four January games before he knew it was time to hang up the skates. His season debut was a January 13 win against the Philadelphia Flyers, and his last game in the league was a loss to the Anaheim Ducks on January 24.
The veteran goalie finished his 564 game career at 308-165-66 with a 2.28 GAA and .921 save percentage. He is the franchise leader in wins and is second in shutouts with 52, behind Tiny Thompson with 74 (statistics courtesy of NHL.com).
He thanked his fans and all of the teammates he played with over the last 15 years, along with the Bruins organization, its coaches, and staff.
“I've never wanted to play for any other team. I'm so proud to have worn the Spoked-B for my entire career and wouldn't have had it any other way,” the statement concluded.
