If the Bruins move on from Tuukka Rask, who might be available?

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Tuukka Rask's future with the Boston Bruins remains a hotly debated topic with the 33-year-old goalie entering the final year of his contract.TSN's Frank Seravalli reported last week that, "multiple sources indicate that Bruins GM Don Sweeney has initiated conversations with teams about Rask’s market value over the last number of weeks."However, Sweeney said Monday that Rask "remains a big part of our roster planning going forward."If the Bruins do trade Rask, which goalies could they target to start or backup Jaroslav Halak? Let's look at some of the best options.

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2019-20 Stats: 18-6-6, 2.39 GAA, .919 SV%

Age: 35

If the Bruins traded Rask and didn't acquire another top-tier goalie in return, Halak is the most obvious choice to be the team's No. 1 netminder. He has plenty of starting and playoff experience. 

While Halak is capable of being a starting NHL goalie, he's best suited as a backup at this stage of his career, and he's excelled in that role for Boston over the last two seasons. 

Halak is not going to be a Vezina Trophy-caliber netminder like Rask if he's the No. 1 option, and he likely wouldn't be able to lead the team to a championship, either. We saw evidence of that during Boston's 2020 playoff run.

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2019-20 Stats: 16-8-4, 2.22 GAA, .930 SV%

Age: 34

Sound familiar? 

Khudobin played for the Bruins from 2011-12 through 2012-13, and then again from 2016-17 through 2017-18. 

He's spent the last two seasons with the Dallas Stars, who he helped lead to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning. His .926 regular season save percentage in Dallas is impressive.

Khudobin has excelled in backup and platoon roles his entire career. If the Bruins traded Rask and planned to start Halak, Khudobin would be an ideal backup.

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2019-20 Stats: 25-14-6, 3.11 GAA, .897 SV%

Age: 30

Holtby has dominated the Bruins throughout his career with an 18-4-0 record and a .939 save percentage in 22 games against Boston. 

The 2019-20 campaign was a disappointing one for him, but given his excellent playoff experience and performance, he's not a bad option for the B's if they're looking for a veteran goalie who can handle a postseason workload.

Holtby also was a key component in the Capitals' Stanley Cup-winning team two years ago.

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2019-20 Stats: 23-16-4, 2.75 GAA, .918 SV%

Age: 30

Markstrom figures to be one of the most expensive and sought after goalies on the free agent market, especially since he's the best player available at the position after Robin Lehner re-signed with the Golden Knights.

Rask has a salary cap hit of $7 million for the upcoming season, and if Markstrom signs a new contract with a cap hit above $5 million, the B's wouldn't be saving that much money. 

Overall, it's hard to imagine Markstrom coming to Boston if Rask was traded. He'll likely be pursuing a long-term deal and command a salary too high for any deal to make sense for the B's.

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2019-20 Stats: 16-9-4, 2.74 GAA, .913 SV%

Age: 34

Greiss has been rock solid in the Islanders net over the last two seasons, posting a .928 save percentage in 2018-19 and a .913 mark this past season. He also has a .922 career playoff save percentage.

Greiss would be a solid backup for Halak and give the Bruins two veteran goalies with quality playoff experience.

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2019-20 Stats: 16-20-3, 2.77 GAA, .917 SV%

Age: 35

Crawford remains a capable starting goalie and has a huge amount of playoff experience, including 96 career postseason appearances and two Stanley Cup titles with the Blackhawks -- remember 2013, Bruins fans?

If the Bruins traded Rask, trying to sign Crawford to a short-term deal wouldn't be a bad move. 

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2019-20 Stats: 16-11-2, 2.22 GAA, .928 SV%

Age: 30

Kuemper has enjoyed a solid two seasons in Arizona, where he posted a .925 save percentage in 2018-19 and a .928 save percentage this past season. He has 18 games of playoff experience with a .913 career postseason save percentage.

Kuemper really only makes sense as a trade target for the Bruins if he was included in a potential deal involving Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The Bruins reportedly have interest in Ekman-Larsson, and he would satisfy a need on the blue line if Torey Krug departs in free agency.

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The Bruins have historically failed to draft elite goalies. Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask -- arguably the two best netminders in team history -- were both drafted by other teams. The list of the team's goalie draft picks over the last 30 years is not a pretty one.

However, the B's do have two promising goalie prospects in Dan Vladar and Jeremy Swayman. 

Vladar, a third-round pick in 2015, made his NHL debut taking over for Halak in the midst of a 7-1 rout in Game 3 of the 2020 Eastern Conference Final. He had a solid 2019-20 season in the AHL, where he posted a .936 save percentage in 25 games for Providence. Vladar could be a backup soon, but the 2020-21 campaign is probably too early for that.

Swayman had a very good 2019-20 season for the University of Maine. He has a bright future, but the 2017 draft pick is nowhere near NHL ready. 

If the Bruins are in need of a goalie before or during next season, it's unlikely they find a starter or backup in their prospect pool.

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The Bruins don't have a first-round draft pick this year, and the last time they took a goalie in Round 1 was Malcolm Subban in 2012. 

As mentioned in the previous slide, the Bruins have two talented goalie prospects in Dan Vladar and Jeremy Swayman. But neither player is expected to make a meaningful impact at the NHL for a while, and any goalie drafted by Boston in 2020 will be even further away from seeing the net. Goalies take several years to develop.

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