Boston Bruins Free Agent News: 7 Teams That Could Go After Tuukka Rask

As much as it would serve their best interest to renew his contract before July 1, the Boston Bruins have yet to ensure their short-term, let alone long-term future with goaltender Tuukka Rask.

Although sidelined for the balance of this regular season and likely not a viable option for the playoffs, the 25-year-old Rask remains the Bruins’ best long-term choice among their current stoppers. Tim Thomas will soon turn 38 and may not last more than another year or two while top Providence goaltender Anton Khudobin’s NHL readiness is virtually impossible to gauge.

In short, if general manager Peter Chiarelli lets Rask’s current, $1.5 million contract rot rather than enhance it ahead of the next free agency period, it will be Boston’s loss. In turn, it will be the gift-wrapped gain of another NHL team that is either facing a scenario similar to that of the Bruins with Thomas or otherwise itching to start anew in the cage.

The seven clubs who could make the best use of the young Finn are as follows in alphabetical order.

Chicago

Rask has generally turned in better numbers in his three full NHL seasons than Corey Crawford has in his two full NHL campaigns or Ray Emery in his six post-lockout seasons.

Crawford is slated to remain a Blackhawk for an additional two seasons. But unless they are suddenly blown away by Emery, another pending free agent who is only reeling in six figures, the Hawks might want to find someone else to challenge Crawford.

Columbus

Contrary to past suggestions, the Blue Jackets would not relinquish their captain and elite scorer in exchange for Rask in the middle of the season.

But if they could get him with no strings attached this offseason, they might as well take a stab at it. Steve Mason is not getting much better after four years with the team and career backup Curtis Sanford is not getting any younger.

Edmonton

The 39-year-old Nikolai Khabibulin has tapered off after a surprisingly promising start to his 2011-12 season and Devan Dubnyk has offered no real relief.

Dubnyk is nearing restricted free agency while Khabibulin has one more year on his contract. Accordingly, whether it is for the immediate or near future, Rask might be an ideal solution to supplant one or both of Edmonton’s ineffective stoppers.

New Jersey

Martin Brodeur could retire this summer. And while Johan Hedberg has a contract identical to Rask―one season left with a $1.25 million cap hit―he is also 13 years older than the Boston backup, only a year younger than Brodeur and even a year older than Thomas.

Depending on Brodeur’s decision, the Devils will be looking for new blood in a hurry to fill their blue paint. And unless they would prefer to roll the dice on unripe Albany stoppers Jeff Frazee and Keith Kinkaid, they would surely find an enticing option in Rask.

New York Islanders

Al Montoya and Evgeni Nabokov are both at the end of their six-figure contracts, Rick DiPietro’s health is as unreliable as usual and Anders Nilsson has yet to make a complete impression.

Given the quantity of current Islanders goaltenders, this team may be the least likely on this list to pursue Rask. But given everyone’s status, it is not an outright impossible proposition.

Ottawa

The Senators have subsisted chiefly on offense whilst surprising the bulk of the NHL’s followers as they have contended for, and will likely secure, a spot in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs.

If they are to build upon this foundation in 2012-13 and beyond, they must make a point of shoring up the cage. And no one is saying that cannot be done by staying patient with Craig Anderson or even phasing in AHL veteran Ben Bishop, who was imported from the St. Louis organization at the trading deadline.

Even so, grabbing a young, yet relatively seasoned stopper from a divisional rival at no cost would have to be a tempting proposition.

Tampa Bay

With Dwayne Roloson on his last lags and the seasoned Mathieu Garon lacking anything spectacular on his career transcript, the Lighting could use a younger, fairly proven new mask.

Not unlike the Devils, the Lightning may be forced to rush in one or two AHL-caliber goalies―Dustin Tokarski or Jaroslav Janus―if they do not explore the trade or free agent market this summer.