ECQF: Boston Bruins (4) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (5) (Boston wins 4-1)

[Macindoc]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Haha. Right you are! Oops

Where are the finals being played, is that decided?

DEadmonton.

[Itse]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

I’m surprised people are speculating what is and isn’t going on.
Can we just be comfortable with the fact we don’t know and not judge him?

This.

For some guys just being locked in the bubble might be really hard mentally, and as the weeks roll by we might see others leaving just because they have to get out.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by Macindoc

DEadmonton.

Excellent. Then Rask was perhaps dreading success putting him in a bubble, only this time.. in Edmonton

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Family situations are always more complicated. We have no idea what is going on.

Yes, and they are complicated for all the other players, too, and we never can know for certain everything that's going on in a player's personal life. If your conclusion from that is no one can ever make any judgment about any player in any context, fine I guess, but I suspect most people will disagree, because most of us spend rather a lot of time talking about NHL players and their decision making, on and off the ice. Free agency must be a super boring time for you.

But go ahead and make a judgement on the basis of a tweet. I guess this is the world we live in.

I'm making my judgments on the basis of clear statements made in a press conference. The fact that they've been transcribed on Twitter seems irrelevant. They're the information we have and there's no indication that there's some mysterious other thing going on. Sweeney literally said it was nothing specific, that Rask was having a hard time in the bubble and his kids wanted their dad. I have no doubt that's true. But it's true of every other player, and those guys didn't abandon their teammates.

Frankly, based on Rask's game 2 comments, his head just clearly wasn't in it. He didn't care. The Bruins might be better off with someone in net who does. But it still reflects poorly on Rask.

[Corral]

Tbh the whole setup for this is really lame and I expect more players to do likewise. Well some of you still want to believe this is real playoffs, its not and the players know it. To leave your family for months to perform in this mens League tournament is just not worth it

[FiveSeven]

Asking humans not to judge, c'mon now. His teammates probably didn't like his comments last night and neither did media or the NHL. My guess is he had his 87th tantrum and peaced out.

If not and his wife is being a meanie, or he misses home, I don't care either, don't like the guy or how he acts. Writing this is the most I've ever even thought about him.

This feels like playoffs to me, and to every single person I've spoken to IRL. This is as good as it gets with the circumstances. This is also probably how the whole next season is going to be like except with a few more cities unless the vaccine is out and some how proven long term safe. I thought I was gonna die of a heart attack watching the game last night, so it's definitely legit to me.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

Yes, and they are complicated for all the other players, too, and we never can know for certain everything that's going on in a player's personal life. If your conclusion from that is no one can ever make any judgment about any player in any context, fine I guess, but I suspect most people will disagree, because most of us spend rather a lot of time talking about NHL players and their decision making, on and off the ice. Free agency must be a super boring time for you.

I'm making my judgments on the basis of clear statements made in a press conference. The fact that they've been transcribed on Twitter seems irrelevant. They're the information we have and there's no indication that there's some mysterious other thing going on. Sweeney literally said it was nothing specific, that Rask was having a hard time in the bubble and his kids wanted their dad. I have no doubt that's true. But it's true of every other player, and those guys didn't abandon their teammates.

Frankly, based on Rask's game 2 comments, his head just clearly wasn't in it. He didn't care. The Bruins might be better off with someone in net who does. But it still reflects poorly on Rask.

Again every family situation and different. Saying "its true of every other player" is a gross oversimplification.

It's an ugly take from you. The world needs more empathy. If he feels he needs to be home for his family, I'm not going to judge him because I don't know nearly enough. But you can stand there and look down your nose and cast judgement if you want, based on next to no information.

For a guy that often prides himself on being data driven and pragmatic, seems odd to me.

You think this reflects poorly on Rask? I think your take reflects poorly on you.

[Geeoff]

I wonder if Rask will retire? He's a millionaire, so he has the luxury of just spending the rest of his time with his family, if he so desires.

He's won the Stanley Cup, Vezina Trophy, one of the best all time save%. Not really much else to prove other than padding these stats.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Corral

Tbh the whole setup for this is really lame and I expect more players to do likewise. Well some of you still want to believe this is real playoffs, its not and the players know it. To leave your family for months to perform in this mens League tournament is just not worth it

[Sylvanfan]

One thing I am pretty confident in speculating is that Rask had no previous experience in entering a quaratine type bubble that would required him to be away from his family for an extended period of time, and that the better he played and his team did, the longer that time frame would extend.

From that I might deduce that he was not able to accurately predict exactly how he and his family would react to the situation as time ellapsed. The only constant in this equation is time going on.

So I have a hard time faulting someone for not being able to 100% predict how this would impact them before going into that situation.

The opinion part for me is this...if he was struggling and having mixed emotions here, than the right thing to do is to leave. It could potentially distract him, and it compromises himself and his team if he can't keep the focus he can when he's in his usual routine. I think it's better for everyone to have it come up earlier than later, and deal with it. If the Bruins lose in 6, and they think it's because their starting goalie was distracted and holding back...that's much worse than what they are facing right now. Given his career leading up to this, if I was his team mate I might have some initial disappointment in the moment, but in time I would understand, and I would certainly be willing to start the next season with him again given his history.

[bluejays]

All this Rask debate, and what's kinda funny is there are different takes depending on the angle each person is looking at it from. Some people look at it from the family perspective, saying he's noble for stepping away, while some look at it from the team perspective and say he should've stuck to his commitment. Nobody is wrong and it doesn't reflect poorly on any one side of each person's take. Each person is simply looking at it from a different angle. Some take the sport aspect more seriously and the commitment means something to them. I think the critique on Rask is fair because he did originally commit and family or otherwise he decided to leave. So from a fan perspective it is fair to criticize that. If he was having mental issues, we'll likely never know, and you hope that's not the case. It's fair if he left because of that as well. It's worthy of a debate though, because there are so many potential angles to his decision.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Again every family situation and different. Saying "its true of every other player" is a gross oversimplification.

No, it's not, as you've just demonstrated. "Every family situation is different." Yes, everyone has their own issues at home that they have to deal with, and Rask is just like everyone else. But he's the only one who's quitting on his teammates. Again, it's a different story if there is some other information we're not privy to - perhaps his newborn is sick, or his wife needs special support because of some issue she's having - but not only do we not know that, we're explicitly being told that's not the case. He just decided it wasn't what he felt like doing right now. I cannot imagine being part of a hockey team in a playoff situation where teammates are relying on you to give your all, and coming to that conclusion. Hell, I can't imagine it in my own job - I wouldn't hang my co-workers out to dry like that.

It's an ugly take from you. The world needs more empathy. If he feels he needs to be home for his family, I'm not going to judge him because I don't know nearly enough. But you can stand there and look down your nose and cast judgement if you want, based on next to no information.

No, we don't have to just shrug our shoulders every decision that everyone else makes. It's perfectly legitimate for people to make judgments about the decisions made by others in the public sphere, which Rask is. There are absolutely things hockey players can choose to do that are open to reproach from fans, and in my opinion, leaving your teammates because you just don't feel like continuing to compete alongside them is one of those things. I didn't say he was an awful person, nor did I wish ill on him or his family. I said he quit on the team, because based on what his GM has said, that's precisely what he did. It's completely fair to look at that decision and say, "that's poor form by Rask".

You and your moralizing "that's an ugly take" self-righteous holier-than-thou schtick any time anyone has a negative view of something an NHL player has done is utterly tiresome.

For a guy that often prides himself on being data driven and pragmatic, seems odd to me.

You think this reflects poorly on Rask? I think your take reflects poorly on you.

I'm talking about Rask's decision. You've decided to change the whole tone of this discussion just to take a personal shot at me. But that's not surprising given your posting history - you really like making things personal whenever you can, don't you? Well, I happen to think that tendency reflects poorly on you, every single time you demonstrate it.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by mrdonkey

He's been playing in Toronto.

Oh so, only slightly less ####ty.

[GirlySports]

This is the worst I've ever seen Carolina play.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

No, it's not, as you've just demonstrated. "Every family situation is different." Yes, everyone has their own issues at home that they have to deal with, and Rask is just like everyone else. But he's the only one who's quitting on his teammates. Again, it's a different story if there is some other information we're not privy to - perhaps his newborn is sick, or his wife needs special support because of some issue she's having - but not only do we not know that, we're explicitly being told that's not the case. He just decided it wasn't what he felt like doing right now. I cannot imagine being part of a hockey team in a playoff situation where teammates are relying on you to give your all, and coming to that conclusion. Hell, I can't imagine it in my own job - I wouldn't hang my co-workers out to dry like that..

Of course there's information we are not privy to. We have no idea what his family dynamics are as a husband as a father. We have no idea what the impacts of this situation have been on the people he cares about. Just because we don't believe his newborn is sick, doesn't mean there aren't things going on that motivate him to go home. To take the information we have (which is little) and go to "He just decided i wasn't what he felt like doing right now" is a huge leap. And I'll tell you right now if my family needed me I would work with my employer to make sure I could be there for them. The world needs to prioritize mental health and family well being more.

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

No, we don't have to just shrug our shoulders every decision that everyone else makes. It's perfectly legitimate for people to make judgments about the decisions made by others in the public sphere, which Rask is. There are absolutely things hockey players can choose to do that are open to reproach from fans, and in my opinion, leaving your teammates because you just don't feel like continuing to compete alongside them is one of those things. I didn't say he was an awful person, nor did I wish ill on him or his family. I said he quit on the team, because based on what his GM has said, that's precisely what he did. It's completely fair to look at that decision and say, "that's poor form by Rask".

You and your moralizing "that's an ugly take" self-righteous holier-than-thou schtick any time anyone has a negative view of something an NHL player has done is utterly tiresome.
.

When people start judging hockey players as people instead of their performance then yes I object. They are still humans. With human relationships.

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

I'm talking about Rask's decision. You've decided to change the whole tone of this discussion just to take a personal shot at me. But that's not surprising given your posting history - you really like making things personal whenever you can, don't you? Well, I happen to think that tendency reflects poorly on you, every single time you demonstrate it.

Neat.

[Nsd1]

Rask has had to leave the team before also:

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.nbcs...ave-team%3famp

Nobody knows what his situation is like and whether it’s mental and/or physical thing for him. I’m sure his teammates know more than we do and they seem to support him. You can say he quit on his team but it really only matters what the Bruins think of him.

[Locke]

Yeah, and hes played enough games that if the Bruins win it all he still gets a Ring! Its the best of both worlds!

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by Nsd1

Rask has had to leave the team before also:

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.nbcs...ave-team%3famp

Nobody knows what his situation is like and whether it’s mental and/or physical thing for him. I’m sure his teammates know more than we do and they seem to support him. You can say he quit on his team but it really only matters what the Bruins think of him.

And other stakeholders...such as fans.

[Flames Fan, Ph.D.]

Just to be clear, I said nothing about postpartum depression.

My comment was merely that even in the most innocuous situation where they have 3 healthy kids, that’s a lot of work for one person and it’s ok to want to be home and to share the responsibilities.

[transplant99]

Svechnikov on the ice grabbing his knee.....yikes.

Replay shows...


Ohhh....thats not going to be good news.