It appears as if each season within the NHL there’s a commerce that has a transparent winner and loser. Generally it could possibly take months and even years to inform who that winner is, and the affect from that deal will be felt for years to return.
Within the case of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the choice to commerce Tuukka Rask to the Boston Bruins for Andrew Raycroft in 2006 was a transparent loss. Whereas it was not possible to foretell the way in which the commerce would prove, the final decade of Maple Leafs hockey would possibly look utterly completely different if that deal hadn’t been made.
Maple Leafs on the Flip of the Century
Within the early 2000s, the Maple Leafs have been arrange properly on the goaltending place. In 1998, the Maple Leafs signed free agent Curtis Joseph to a contract by means of the 2001-02 season. In 2002, they signed Corridor of Fame goalie Ed Belfour to a deal by means of the 2005-06 season.
On the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, the Maple Leafs drafted Tuukka Rask twenty first total — the second goalie taken within the draft after Montreal Canadiens’ celebrity Carey Worth. Though there have been excessive hopes for the younger netminder, the Finland native elected to play for Ilves Tampere within the Finnish Elite League following his draft, and by no means suited up in a Maple Leafs uniform.
After a lacklustre 2005-06 season the place the Maple Leafs missed playoffs and completed in ninth place within the Jap Convention, then-general supervisor John Ferguson Jr. was tasked with discovering a alternative goalie. With Belfour’s contract expiring however administration not seeking to rebuild, Ferguson determined to go the commerce path to make his crew higher.
No Rebuild for Maple Leafs
On June 24, 2006, it was introduced that the Maple Leafs acquired Andrew Raycroft from the Boston Bruins in change for Rask.
Raycroft was a Bruins fourth-round decide in 1998 and spent nearly all of his first three seasons with Boston’s AHL affiliate in Windfall, Rhode Island. Within the 2003-04 season, he posted a outstanding 29-18-9 file with a 2.05 goals-against common (GAA) and a .926 save share (SV%) on path to successful the Calder Trophy for Rookie of the 12 months.
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The 2004-05 lockout may need been the worst factor to occur to Raycroft’s profession, as he by no means returned to the Calder Trophy caliber we noticed through the 2003-04 season. In 2005-06, Raycroft went 8-19-2 in 30 begins for the Bruins with a 3.71 GAA and .879 SV%.
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Though hoping to get the Calder Trophy-winning Raycroft in an try to usher in an NHL-ready beginning goalie, the Maple Leafs acquired the 2005-06 model of the goaltender. In buying and selling away Rask, the crew gave up any goaltending stability which will have existed within the following years. The Maple Leafs would bounce between goaltenders for 10 years earlier than discovering their first true number-one goaltender since Belfour in Frederik Andersen.
Rask Dominant with Bruins
As a member of the Bruins, Rask began his tenure with the crew’s AHL affiliate in Windfall the place he had two wonderful seasons amassing an total file of 60-33-6. The Bruins had a stable number-one goalie in Tim Thomas from 2006-2011, so it took some time for Rask to get his alternative to shine as a starter.
It was the 2009-10 season when Rask made his first affect within the NHL. He began 45 video games on his technique to a 22-12-5 file with a 1.97 GAA and a .937 SV%. Though he didn’t play within the playoffs through the 2010-11 season, he was a part of the Stanley Cup-winning Bruins crew.
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Between 2012-13 and 2019-20, Rask received 244 video games, the second most within the league. His 2.28 GAA was the bottom out of all goalies with over 250 video games performed, and he was tied with Marc-Andre Fleury with essentially the most shutouts within the NHL with 39 over that very same time span. He additionally received the Vezina Trophy in 2013-14.
Earlier than the 2019-20 season got here to a halt, Rask was having among the best seasons of his profession. He was main the league with a 2.12 GAA and was second in SV% at .929, on his technique to being one of many entrance runners for the Vezina Trophy. The Bruins have been having one other dominant season, sitting properly forward in first place with 100 factors. Rask was main the way in which for the crew with a 26-8-6 file in 41 begins.
What Might Have Been
It has turn out to be fairly private between Rask and the Maple Leafs. Over the previous six seasons, the Bruins have been dominant within the Atlantic Division and crushed Toronto’s playoff goals on a number of events. The Bruins appear to have the Maple Leafs’ quantity, which simply provides insult to damage figuring out the goalie main the way in which may have been in Toronto.
If the Maple Leafs hadn’t made that commerce for Raycroft again in 2006, the 2010s might have seemed so much completely different in Toronto. Names like Jonathon Bernier, James Reimer and Vesa Toskala might not have been seen in a Maple Leafs uniform.
Whereas preserving Rask would have solidified the goaltending place sooner, it might have prevented Toronto from buying present star gamers like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander. We are going to by no means know whether or not preserving Rask would have led to success for the Maple Leafs, however primarily based on the commerce that was made, we are able to definitely label him as one which acquired away.
