Tuukka Rask has pulled out of the NHL playoffs.

This one is a shocker ladies and gentlemen.

According to an official announcement from the Boston Bruins organization, star goaltender Tuukka Rask has reportedly just pulled out of the playoffs. I would not have believed it had this merely been a leak from a reporter, however this is an actual announcement that has been published by the official Bruins accounts on social media, so this one is totally legit. 

It is an unbelievable move and unless there are some very good motivations behind the move, which I assume there are, this is a decision that fans will likely hold against Rask for a very long time to come. The Bruins star netminder has struggled thus far inside of the bubble making 4 appearances for the Bruins and recorded a 2.57 goals against average and a .904 save percentage, not exactly one of the top performers in the tournament by any stretch of the imagination.

The move, somewhat curiously, comes off the heels of complaints that were made by Rask regarding the format and regarding the level of competition without fans in the building. Rask had stated rather bluntly that he felt that the games were more like exhibition matches than a true playoff atmosphere, at least not the kind of playoff atmosphere he has become accustomed to on several deep runs with the Bruins.

“It doesn’t really feel like playoff hockey right now. There’s no fans.It feels like an exhibition game,” said Rask of the format.

In the statement itself Rask has cited the importance of being with his family as a motivating factor behind the decision so you do have to wonder if something may have happened in Rask's personal life to push him towards this seemingly bizarre decision in the middle of the tournament. Rask also made it clear that he wanted to be competing with his teammates but added that the things in his personal life were simply "more important" at this current time. 

I think it is important to recognize that we are living in a time when people's loved ones can suddenly become very ill as a result of the global pandemic, and for this reason I will reserve my judgement regarding this move until we have more information.