Finland (2002–2007) Rask started his career in the
junior teams of his hometown club
SaPKo in
Savonlinna, Finland. He then played in 26 games for the
Tampere-based
Ilves's junior team in the
SM-sarja. His
goals against average (GAA) was 1.86 with two shutouts and a .935
save percentage. Rask played started as the primary goaltender for the Ilves senior team in the Finnish top-flight
SM-liiga in 2004. He was the top-ranked European goaltender for the
2005 NHL entry draft. In the midst of his play with Ilves, the
Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Rask in the first round, 21st overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. However, before playing a regular season game for Toronto, he was traded to the
Boston Bruins in exchange for former
Calder Memorial Trophy-winning goaltender
Andrew Raycroft. Toronto management instead chose to keep goaltender
Justin Pogge, who had just won a
gold medal with
Team Canada at the
World Junior Championships. Pogge would go on to play only seven games in the NHL, finishing his NHL career with a single win. It was later revealed the Bruins intended to release Raycroft, which would have made him available to Toronto without having to give up Rask. In hindsight, the trade is widely considered to be one of the worst trades in Maple Leafs franchise history. Rask would experience many seasons of success with the Bruins, but Raycroft would play only two seasons for Toronto, recording disappointing statistics.
Boston Bruins (2007–2022) Backup and emergence (2007–2010) Rask would play a final season in Finland with Ilves in
2006–07. On 5 May 2007, Rask signed a three-year contract with the Boston Bruins and was in attendance to observe the
Providence Bruins' 2006–07 playoff run for the
American Hockey League (AHL)'s
Calder Cup championship. The Providence team did not make it past the second round of the Calder Cup against the
Manchester Monarchs, but nonetheless Rask practiced with the Providence team. On 5 November 2007, Rask was called up to the Boston Bruins for the first time. Just two weeks later, on 20 November, he recorded his first NHL win, a 4–2 victory on the road against his former team, the
Toronto Maple Leafs. On 3 October 2008, the Bruins reassigned Rask to Providence. Rask had the best save percentage (.952) among the goalies in pre-season play, followed by teammates
Manny Fernandez (.875),
Tim Thomas (.869) and
Kevin Regan (.857). Despite this, the team opted to go with the two veteran goaltenders, Thomas and Fernandez, for the
2008–09 season. With nagging back spasms keeping Fernandez from play shortly after the
All-Star Game break, Rask was once again called up to serve as a second goaltender, and on 31 January 2009, he played his first (and only) game with the Bruins in the
2008–09 season, and earned his first ever NHL shutout, a 1–0 home effort against the
New York Rangers, with
Marc Savard scoring the only Bruins goal. Not long after the beginning of the
2009–10 season, Rask, who had been named the backup goaltender to Thomas, signed a two-year extension to his contract with the Bruins on 5 November that kept him under contract through to the 2011–12 season. In the 2009–10 regular season, Rask was the only goaltender in the NHL with a GAA of less than 2.00 and the only goaltender with a save percentage over .930, becoming the only qualifying rookie in NHL history to lead the league with a sub-2.00 GAA while also leading the league in save percentage. Rask finished 4th in voting for the
Calder Trophy.
Stanley Cup title, Vezina trophy and team dominance (2010–2019) In the
2010–11 season,
Tim Thomas returned to top form, effectively relegating Rask once again to the backup role. With the Bruins
winning the Stanley Cup in 2011 against the
Presidents' Trophy-winning
Vancouver Canucks, Rask became only the second Finnish goaltender to do so, after
Antti Niemi of the
San Jose Sharks accomplished the feat
the previous year while Niemi was with the
Chicago Blackhawks. However, unlike Niemi who won the cup as a starter, Rask did not play a single minute during the Bruins' cup run. Instead, Thomas would play every game and eventually win the
Conn Smythe as the playoff MVP after posting a 1.98 GAA and leading the league with a .940 save percentage during that year's playoffs. Thomas surrendered only eight goals in the seven games in the Stanley Cup Final against the Canucks. at the end of a game in February 2012 On 28 June 2012, Rask re-signed with the Bruins to a one-year, $3.5 million contract. Prior to the declaration of the
2012–13 lockout, Rask was named as the starting goaltender for the Bruins, replacing Tim Thomas, who would eventually be traded to the
New York Islanders on 7 February 2013. During the lockout, which ended on 6 January 2013, Rask played for
HC Plzeň, which won the
Czech Extraliga that year. After the NHL resumed play, Rask led the Bruins to their second Stanley Cup Final in three seasons in the 2013 playoffs. In the third round of the playoffs against the top-seeded
Pittsburgh Penguins, Rask faced 136 shots in four games played, allowing two goals while making 134 saves for a 0.50 GAA and a .985 save percentage. In the
Stanley Cup Final, the Bruins were defeated in six games by the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Chicago Blackhawks, as Rask registered a .932 save percentage. in January 2016 On 10 July 2013, the Bruins re-signed Rask to an eight-year, $56 million contract. Following the conclusion of the
2013–14 season, Rask was awarded the NHL's
Vezina Trophy, awarded to the "goalkeeper adjudged to be the best at his position". He posted a 36–15–6 record, highlighted by a career-best ten-game points-won streak from 20 to 30 March, going 9–0–1, as the Bruins captured their first Presidents' Trophy since 1990 and led the
Eastern Conference in team defence (2.08 goals allowed per game). Early in the
2016–17 season, Rask sustained a groin injury that somewhat hampered his abilities much of the season following a successful October campaign, starting the 2016–17 season with 12 wins and a .938 save percentage in 17 games. He was likely used more often than usual, with the Bruins suffering from "backup goaltender" challenges early in the season, but not enough of a hindrance to help lead the Bruins to the
2017 playoffs, the Bruins' first playoff appearance in three seasons after narrowly missing the playoffs the previous two seasons. Following a six-game quarterfinal series with the Bruins losing to the
Ottawa Senators four games to two, Rask successfully underwent groin surgery on 9 May 2017. In mid-August, Rask said he expected to be ready for the Bruins' training camp for the
2017–18 season. In the 2017–18 season, from 26 November 2017 to 10 February 2018, Rask had a career-high 21-game point streak. Rask and the Bruins ended up finishing the season with 50 wins and 112 points, their best season since their 2013–14 Presidents' Trophy-winning season. He played only 54 games, his lowest since that same 2013–14 season, posting a 34–14–5 record with a 2.36 GAA and a .917 save percentage. In the
2018 playoffs, the Bruins were defeated in the second round in five games by the top-seeded
Tampa Bay Lightning, with Rask playing 12 games total in the playoffs and posting a 2.88 GAA and .903 save percentage, his lowest since his first postseason in 2010. On 1 January 2019, during the
2019 NHL Winter Classic against the Chicago Blackhawks, Rask set a new record for games played by a Bruins goaltender with his 469th game, surpassing
Tiny Thompson's record set in the
1938–39 season. However, Rask was later placed on injured reserve by the Bruins on 28 January after sustaining a concussion. At the time of his injury, Rask had a 14–8–3 record in 25 starts. Rask returned to the Bruins lineup on 31 January, in a 3–2 overtime loss to the
Philadelphia Flyers. It was his first start in a game since 19 January. On 3 February against the
Washington Capitals, Rask recorded a shutout to become the career leader for wins by a goaltender in Bruins history, again surpassing Tiny Thompson. Rask helped the Bruins to the
2019 Stanley Cup Final, though they ultimately lost in seven games to the
St. Louis Blues, one win short from a second Stanley Cup. Rask recorded a 15–9 record with a 2.02 goals against average and a .934 save percentage during the
2019 playoffs.
Later seasons and injuries (2019–2022) Rask played his 500th game in the NHL on 22 October 2019, a 4–2 Bruins victory over the
Toronto Maple Leafs. On 10 March 2020, his 33rd birthday, Rask recorded the 50th shutout of his career, against the
Philadelphia Flyers. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic cancelling the last three weeks of the 2019–20 season and when the NHL announced its return-to-play plan for the playoffs, Rask would automatically win the
William M. Jennings Trophy along with Jaroslav Halak and the Bruins would win the
Presidents' Trophy as the regular season champions. During the NHL's Return to Play, Rask played five games in the "bubble" in
Toronto in which teams were quarantined, including two games against the
Carolina Hurricanes in the
2020 playoffs. On 15 August 2020, during the , Rask opted to leave the playoffs, exit the bubble, and return to his family. After the Bruins elimination from the playoffs by the eventual Stanley Cup champion
Tampa Bay Lightning, he revealed that the reason he left was his daughter going through an undisclosed medical emergency. On 15 April 2021, Rask would return from an upper-body injury, where he recorded his
300th NHL win against the
New York Islanders. He became the 37th goaltender and the fourth Finnish goaltender to achieve the milestone. Rask also became the fifth-fastest player to reach the milestone, which he achieved in his 552nd NHL game, and also became the first Bruins goaltender to reach the mark. On 21 May, Rask passed
Gerry Cheevers for the most postseason wins by a goalie in Bruins history, after Rask won his 54th postseason game against the
Washington Capitals in the
2021 playoffs. Following
the game 6 exit of the Bruins from the playoffs in the second round against the New York Islanders, Rask revealed he had been dealing with an early-season injury to an
acetabular labrum in one of his hips, necessitating surgery during the summer and a likely return to play for the team. Even with his upcoming free-agency resulting in UFA status by the upcoming season, Rask indicated he had no plans to play as a goaltender for any other team but the Bruins, going forward. On 6 January 2022, Rask signed an AHL tryout contract with the
Providence Bruins of the
American Hockey League (AHL), with the intention to rehab from surgery before returning to Boston. However, the games he was slated to start in were postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak among the
Lehigh Valley Phantoms, who were then unable to travel to Providence for the weekend's contests. Despite missing those rehab starts, Rask signed a one-year contract with the Boston Bruins on 11 January, worth $1 million. In his return to the Bruins, Rask started just four games in the
2021–22 season before going back on the injured list. On 9 February, Rask announced his retirement from ice hockey.
Post retirement Following his retirement Rask has remained a member of the Bruins organization and has served as a corporate ambassador since 2022. He has also participated in benefit games for the Bruins alumni organization. During the
2024-25 season Rask alongside
Andrew Raycroft, and
Patrice Bergeron started
Unobstructed Views a Bruins themed alternate live telecast series which airs on
NESN. In 2025 Rask would win a
Regional Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Interview/Discussion. ==International play==