Posted in Toivonen, Rask May 6th, 2007
Muddled Mix o’ ‘minders: Rask signs multi-year deal
Currently manning the pipes in Boston is Tim Thomas, a man whose first name might as well be “34-year old”. He’s got tenure right now, albeit with just 108 games under his “Beware of Bear” mask. He played lights out hockey this season, but it always seems like someone’s breathing down his neck.
Over one shoulder is Hannu Toivonen, who seems to be the prodigal son. He was more or less dubbed the goaltender of the future when taken with the 29th overall pick in the 2002 draft. After showing some promise in ‘05-06 he regressed this season….being more affected by the nightly spray of shots he faced than was Thomas. However, he didn’t go down without a fight. After being sent down to Providence, he’s now helping lead the team in the playoffs. As a result, the Bruins continued to show their faith in him by rewarding him with a one year contract extension.
Over the other shoulder is Tuukka Rask, the OTHER “goaltender of the future” acquired for Andrew Raycroft last year. Similar to Toivonen, he was drafted 21st overall in 2005. After a successful season in Finland, the Bruins rewarded him with a multi-year contract on Saturday.
So how is all of this going to play out? We might find out sooner rather than later. Rask is to join Providence for the duration of the Calder Cup playoffs. My fearless prognostication was that, barring a trade, Thomas and an undisclosed veteran (Joey MacDonald?) would stay in Boston while Toivonen and Rask would have a time share situation in Providence for a BATTLE OF THE PRODIGIES (insert Star Trek fight scene music here). Under this scenario, Toivonen and Rask would both be able to get a decent amount of playing time as opposed to riding the pine in Boston. So, even though the senior club’s season is over, Toivonen and Rask might be giving us a preview of next year is going to look like as soon as Tuesday night.
And to think, most Bruins fans have already mailed it in for this season!
This entry was posted on Sunday, May 6th, 2007 at 1:16 am and is filed under Toivonen, Rask. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
