Former Bruins Goalies Come Together In Telecast After Different Career Paths
WATERTOWN, Mass. — The world of sports can sometimes have as many six degrees of separation similar to the movie sets of Hollywood.
Retired NHL goaltenders Andrew Raycroft and Tuukka Rask both played for the Boston Bruins during different times of their careers.
The pair reflected a little bit on their unique connection with NESN.com Thursday ahead of the debut episode of NESN’s “Unobstructed Views.”
Raycroft was selected by the Bruins in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft and played 108 games for Boston across five seasons. Rask was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft but never played for the franchise. The Leafs traded Rask to the Bruins at the conclusion of the 2005-06 season, for Raycroft.
“We definitely didn’t know each other,” Raycroft said. “Tuukka was only 19, I didn’t even know his name. We didn’t even really connect all the way through my playing (career).”
“I knew nothing about the Maple Leafs. I knew nothing about the Bruins,” Rask added. “… When I got traded, the only thing I knew about (Raycroft) was that he won the Calder and that he played in Finland during the lockout when I got drafted.”
The two netminders didn’t actually meet and start to connect until Raycroft joined NESN in 2018 as an in-studio analyst for Bruins broadcasts.
They may not have played together in the NHL, but both have sported the Spoked-B for the Boston Bruins Alumni Association in their retirements and skate weekly with their “Unobstructed Views” co-star Patrice Bergeron.
Raycroft won the Calder Trophy awarded to the “most proficient player in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League” at the conclusion of the 2003-04 season. He is the eighth Bruin to win the award and the last player to do so while donning the Spoked-B.
Posting a .926 save percentage and 2.05 goals-against average with a record of 29-18-9 in 57 games, Raycroft earned the award over two right wings from the Montreal Canadiens and New York Islanders, Michael Ryder and Trent Hunter respectively.
Rask made his debut for the Bruins in the 2007-08 campaign but did not become a regular starter until the 2009-10 season.
He won a Stanley Cup as a member of the 2010-11 Bruins team and a Vezina at the conclusion of the 2013-14 season. Rask leads all Bruins goalies with 308 wins, is second in shutouts (52), and is tied for second in save percentage with Thomas (.921). Rask led the Bruins to two Stanley Cup Finals in 2013 and 2019. Unfortunately, the Black and Gold were on the losing end of both series. However, his 57 playoff wins are the team’s best all-time.