Tuukka Rask is one of several Boston Bruins players who will be free agents this summer, but the veteran goalie has no interest in playing for another team.
"Like I've said before, I'm not going to play for anybody else but the Bruins," Rask said. "This is our home. We have three kids in school here.
"At this point in my life and career, I don't see any reason to go anywhere else, especially with the health I'm looking at now and a recovery time of five to six months. Hopefully it works out that I recover well and then we can talk about a contract when the time is right for that."
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Rask is 34 years old and has only played for the Bruins since making his NHL debut during the 2007-08 season.
Here's how Bruins should handle Rask's future, goalie situation
The veteran netminder also revealed Friday he was playing with a torn labrum in his hip during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He confirmed he'll have surgery to deal with the injury, and that January or February of 2022 is a potential timetable for his return to the ice.
So if the Bruins re-sign Rask, he won't be able to play for the first couple months of the season. That might change the Bruins' plans in net. Do they even bother re-signing Rask with him coming back from a tough injury? If he does re-sign, should the team add another veteran goalie to the mix? Jeremy Swayman and Dan Vladar have 15 games of regular season experience between them.
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Rask isn't the only Bruins goalie able to become an unrestricted free agent in a few weeks. Veteran backup Jaroslav Halak has an expiring contract, too. He has spent the last three seasons as the backup behind Rask but lost that job to Swayman in 2021.