For the first time in his National Hockey League career, Tuukka Rask enters the offseason as an unrestricted free agent, only the second time in his career he enters the summer without putting ink to paper on a new contract.

Sometimes for players, unrestricted free agency can be an enticing option. It provides players with an opportunity to see how much they’re valued outside of the organization they just spent however many weeks, months or seasons in.

Rask however, has no interest in testing the market. At 34-years old, Rask wants to continue his playing career, doing so in Boston, the only place he’s called home during his 14-year career.

“I’m not going to play for anybody else but the Bruins, this is our home. We have three kids here, they have friends in school, we have friends. At this point of my career, I don’t see any reason to go anywhere else,” Rask said Friday morning as the Bruins met with the media for their offseason exit interviews.

“We can talk contracts when the time is right for that.”

Bringing back Rask for the upcoming season makes sense, however, if they do so, they’ll be without his services to start the season and likely through the end of the 2021 calendar year.

Rask played the entire season with torn labrum, an issue that first popped up against the Carolina Hurricanes last season while in the bubble.

“I have a torn labrum in my hip. Going to do surgery, I just don’t know what the exact date is, probably within in a month. Start the recovery process and see what the future holds after that. Hopefully the recovery goes well, and I hope to play hockey at some point next year,” said Rask

“Mentally I’m up for that and the physical aspect, hopefully everything goes well like I said and then we’ll be looking at a January or February return to hockey. That’s kind of the plan and hopefully it works out.”

With Rask out of the picture for the time being, or even for good, the Bruins situation between the pipes takes an interesting turn.

We all saw the success Jeremy Swayman had in his rookie season; the net come October likely will be his.

“I thought it was a special year, definitely one that I’ll remember for a long time. It’s always been a dream to put on any NHL jersey, and to be with the Boston Bruins was even better,” Swayman said of his rookie season. “It was an awesome experience, I know that I’m super fortunate for that, and I’ll take what I learned this year and run with it for sure.”

Rask’s backup to start the season, Jaroslav Halak is also a UFA this summer. It’s hard to see the Bruins bringing Halak back once again, even with the Bruins situation in goal a little cloudy at the moment.

Halak was great in his role as Rask’s backup for the majority of his time in Boston, but his play dipped a bit this season. The Bruins would be wise to find another veteran to bring in on short money to backup Swayman, serving as a reliable option should Swayman falter.

Daniel Vladar does not seem ready quite yet for regular duty at the NHL level, and a Swayman and Vladar pairing could be a death sentence months before Rask even can think about hitting the ice again.

“I’ve played enough hockey, it’s getting to the point that anyway I can be helpful to these young guys, I want to do it. Who knows what the goaltending situation will look like when the season starts? I’m definitely up for helping out anybody I can,” said Rask.

Rask’s injury and upcoming surgery gives the Bruins a chance to get a longer and closer look at Swayman, and a better understanding of what they have in the 22-year-old. With Rask out until the beginning of 2022, it also saves the Bruins some money on whatever Rask’s new contract looks like.

With players like David Krejci and Taylor Hall facing UFA, and RFA’s such as Brandon Carlo facing likely raises, every bit of cap space the Bruins can save is a win for them, even if it comes at the cost of sacrificing three-four months of Rask.

Rask is unsure how many more years he has left in the tank. Some of that hinges on how well this surgery goes.

“I think first and foremost I’m trying to get this hip fixed and start the recovery and see how I feel after. You never know how it will go, you never know what they’ll find when they open the hip, maybe it’s worse than expected. It’s tough to give you and answer right now,” said Rask.

“If everything goes well and I feel great and come back and play, feel awesome, then who knows how long. Maybe it goes the other way, maybe I don’t recover that well and I just can’t play anymore, who knows.”

With the net likely being Swayman’s from the start of the season, there’s a real chance we’ve seen the last of Tuukka Rask as the Bruins No. 1 goalie, or even No. 1A.

With Swayman the hopeful future of the Bruins in net, if it plays out that way when Rask returns, it’s a win/win for the Bruins.

It means they’ve found something in Swayman, and with it, a hopeful smooth transition from the Rask era.

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