Rask not thinking about his next contract yet
Joe McDonald of Athletic: Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask has a year left on his contract and he’s not thinking retirement just yet.
“Winning drives me,” he said. “I haven’t put a number into it that what age it might be, but we’ll see. Maybe it’s 36, or 37. Maybe it’s 42. Maybe I’ll be the goalie who plays to 45; maybe not.”
Rask is using this time to focus on his family and not worry about his contract, that will come in the offseason.
“I know this summer I can start talking to the Bruins about a possible extension and when that day comes we’ll see what happens, but I definitely haven’t put any thought into retirement.”
The Canucks could use some help on the blue line
Harman Dayal of The Athletic: With Chris Tanev likely hitting the free agent market and some uncertainty with arbitration-eligible Troy Stecher, the right side of the Vancouver Canucks blue line may be a top priority for them this offseason.
34-year old left-handed defenseman Alex Edler has a year left on his deal and the Canucks are going to need to find a top-four replacement at some point.
Looking at some potential NHL targets for the Canucks on the blue line.
MacKenzie Weegar – RHD – Florida Panthers – RFA
Caleb Jones – LHD – Edmonton Oilers – 2 years left at $850,000
Erik Cernak – RHD – Tampa Bay Lightning – RFA
Nick Jensen – RHD – Washington Capitals – 3 years left at $2.5 million
Vince Dunn – LHD – St. Louis Blues – RFA
Henri Jokiharju – RHD – Buffalo Sabres – 1 year left at $925,000
Potential prospect targets
Nils Lundkvist – New York Rangers – Are deep on the right side with Jacob Trouba, Adam Fox and Anthony DeAngelo so they might listen to offers.
Jake Bean – Carolina Hurricanes – The Hurricanes are deep on the blue line so they might consider moving someone.
The Canucks could use some of their depth at right wing, especially if they are able to re-sign Tyler Toffoli. They also have Brock Boeser and Jake Virtanen, to go along with prospects Vasili Podkolzin and Kole Lind.
The Canucks could re-sign Josh Leivo and look to create a package around Virtanen to land a defenseman. This wouldn’t be the type of package that would to land them Lundkvist, Cernak or Dunn.