Tuukka Rask now holds a Maple Leafs record: Yes, a Maple Leafs record!
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been lucky enough to have had some incredible goalies in their 105-year franchise history. The list starts with Walter "Turk" Broda and the great Johnny Bower and ends with some of the more recognizable and modern names like Curtis Joseph, Ed Belfour and former Bruins goalie Felix Potvin.
However, for all of the legendary NHL goaltenders who have played in Toronto over the course of the last century, it was a goalie who never played a single game for the Leafs who leads the franchise in career wins by a goalie who was originally drafted by the Maple Leafs.
I'm talking about Tuukka Rask, of course. Rask announced his retirement this week at the age of 34 after trying to pull off an NHL comeback following major hip surgery. Unfortunately, once he determined that he could no longer play to the level that met his standards or the standards of the Bruins' organization, he decided to hang up the pads.
The Finnish netminder finished his exceptional career with 308 wins, all as a Bruin. Oddly enough, the closest goalie behind him on the Leafs' leaderboard is Potvin with 266 career wins.
Rask was acquired by the B's for Andrew Raycroft back on June 24th, 2006, after the Leafs had decided to put all of their eggs in Justin Pogge's basket. He was expected to be the next franchise goaltender in Toronto, but we all know how that worked out.
Rask retires as the all-time leader in games played among Bruins goaltenders with 564. His 308 career wins also leads the team all-time. His .921 career save% puts him among the elite all-time goaltenders like Dominik Hasek. What a legend.
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