Tuukka Rask is officially back with the Boston Bruins.
The team made it official on Tuesday afternoon, announcing that the veteran goalie has signed a one-year contract with a $1 million salary cap hit.
This deal has been in the works for a while now as he had started skating with the team a couple of weeks ago. Rask was an unrestricted free agent this offseason and remained unsigned as it seemed to be Bruins or bust for him this season.
The 34-year-old goalie appeared in 24 games for the Bruins a year ago, posting a .913 save percentage to go with a 15-5-2 record. Originally drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Bruins acquired Rask in 2006 in exchange for goalie Andrew Raycroft. Since then Rask has become one of the best goalies in the NHL (and one of the most successful goalies in Bruins history).
The Bruins goaltending job has been split this season between Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark, with each appearing in 16 games through Tuesday and posting nearly identical numbers. With Rask now back in the mix the Bruins have some of the best goaltending depth in the NHL while the team itself is starting to play some of its best hockey of the season.
There are still some flaws that need to be addressed (second line center, for example) but they are starting to hit their stride and are looking like a team that still has a chance to compete this season.
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.