Don't trade Tuukka!

This year’s month of October has proven one thing for all Bruins fans: Rask cannot be traded!

A lot of naysayers are requesting the organization trade Rask for “an actual goalie”, but that would be a terrible move for the team’s success. He gets selected to represent Team Finland on an international level every time, and he is always the starting goalie for them.

Looking at October, with the goalie crisis that has befallen the Bruins early on, and one quickly realizes that Tuukka Rask is not a trade token the Bruins can use. Not now, at least. With his four starts in October, his record 4-0-0, including a shutout of the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, October 29. Not only did this victory snap a three-game skid the Bruins were in, but Rask shutout a team that entered the bout with 26 goals in eight games.

Putting aside the defensive issue (another topic altogether), Tuukka Rask could neutralize turnovers by freezing the puck and make big saves look easy. Rask would be there to calm everything down and allow his team to breathe and gather themselves again. When a turnover happened with the rookies in net, it opened a large window of opportunity for a potential goal for the opposing team. With Rask in nets, that window of opportunity wasn’t as big. Nor did it appear as often as it did. And the puck was neutralized as quickly as it was turned over.

Rask is, simply put, the Bruins’ biggest defense this year. And all teams that make it to the top-four in the playoffs have exactly that; defense. What the Bruins need to do is to keep Rask, and improve their unchanged defensive corps, ultimately to lessen the load on their goalie.