NHL News

Boston - The Boston Bruins announced Wednesday they have signed goaltender Tuukka Rask to an eight-year contract worth $56 million, an average annual value of $7 million. Rask last season had a 19-10-5 record with a goals-against average of 2.00, a .929 save percentage and five shutouts. He followed that by leading all goaltenders in save percentage (.940) during the Stanley Cup Playoffs while finishing fourth with a 1.88 GAA and tying for first with three shutouts. "That would be an ideal situation, I think, to play here forever," Rask said after the season ended. "I hope we can make that happen."

Rask set a club record with a home playoff shutout streak of 193:16, spanning from Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final to Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. In 2011-12, Rask appeared in 23 games, with an 11-8-3 record, 2.05 GAA and .929 save percentage. In 2009-10, Rask set a career high in wins (22) and led the NHL with a 1.97 GAA and .931 save percentage, becoming the first Bruins goaltender to have a GAA less than 2.00 since 1998-99. His GAA that season was the lowest by any Bruins goaltender since the 1938-39 season. "I played good, proved [to] everyone again that I was capable of doing it," Rask said in June, according to The Associated Press. "I mean, you look at the numbers. They're good. If I just analyze my game and by how I felt throughout the year, I thought it was a great year."

In 138 NHL games, all with the Bruins, Rask has a 66-45-16 record with 16 shutouts, a 2.15 GAA and a .927 save percentage. He has appeared in 35 playoff games, with a 21-14 record, 2.15 GAA, .930 save percentage and three shutouts. The Bruins acquired Rask, 26, from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for goaltender Andrew Raycroft on June 24, 2006. Rask was the Maple Leafs' first-round pick (No. 21) in the 2005 NHL Draft.

 

Carolina - The agent for Jaromir Jagr said Wednesday there are now more than three teams interested in the 41-year-old free agent, and the forward has interest in the Carolina Hurricanes. "A long story short, there are more than three teams," agent Petr Svoboda told CanesCountry.com. "Jaromir wants to be sure of the decision that he makes because he was in [Philadelphia], he was in Dallas, then in Boston. He wants to make sure he makes the right decision."

Svoboda said the Hurricanes are attractive to Jagr in part because former teammate Ron Francis is in their front office. "What I can tell you is this: Carolina was on his list. What the reason is, he knows better than me. He's not 20. He knows where he wants to go and why. …There are a lot of reasons, Ron Francis is there, and when he looks at the roster and everything else, he feels that it's a very good team."

Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said Tuesday in a radio interview the team must move a player before it can add one. The GM mentioned an "upper-tier" free agent but did not name Jagr specifically. "There's one guy that has said he will take less, and a one-year contract, to come to us because he likes our team and he'd like to play here," Rutherford told 99.9 The Fan on Tuesday. "And I've been continuing to work on ways to do that. We're going to have to move a player out before we're able to add a player. And at this point in time I haven't been able to do it, but the player is still waiting patiently."

The Raleigh News & Observer has said the Hurricanes are not pursuing Jagr. Last Saturday, Svoboda told The Associated Press there were three teams interested in Jagr. The agent told TVA Sports there were discussions with Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin and "the interest is mutual, but the decision is now up to the Canadiens."

Svoboda said Tuesday the Buffalo Sabres were not one of the teams. "I have not talked to anybody in Buffalo and the Sabres have not called, It's absolutely not true. Speculation."

Jagr had 14 goals and 26 points in 34 games for the Dallas Stars last season before they dealt him to the Boston Bruins near the NHL Trade Deadline. Jagr had nine points in 11 regular-season games for the Bruins and no goals and 10 assists in 22 Stanley Cup Playoff games. The Bruins opted to not re-sign him. "He had a lot of fun there in Boston but it was an unfortunate finish for Jags," Svoboda told the Buffalo News. "It's so unpredictable. You don't know who will go all the way. He just wants to play hockey where it's fun."

The agent said there is no timetable for Jagr to join a team."It could be soon, it could be a month from now," Svoboda told Canes Country. "Right now, I'm just going to keep very quiet and we’ll see where it goes."

 

AHL - There will be a new division in the American Hockey League's Western Conference for the 2013-14 season to go along with two new teams, the league announced Thursday. The West Division replaces the previously named South among the six divisions in the approved league alignment. The 15 teams in the Eastern Conference remain in the same division from 2012-13, but there will be some shuffling to accommodate two new franchises in the Western Conference. AHL hockey will return to Utica, N.Y., for the first time in 20 years when the Utica Comets drop the puck on the 2013-14 season. The Comets, which will be the Vancouver Canucks' affiliate, are in the North Division along with Rochester, Lake Erie, Toronto and Hamilton. The Comets replaced the Peoria Rivermen as the league's 30th franchise. The AHL is also returning to Des Moines, Iowa, after a briefer hiatus. The Iowa Wild will replace the Houston Aeros after the Minnesota Wild announced they were moving their AHL affiliate to Des Moines in April. The Wild will join Chicago, Rockford, Milwaukee and Calder Cup-champion Grand Rapids in the Midwest Division. The Abbotsford Heat are moving from the North to the new West Division with Charlotte, Oklahoma City, Texas and San Antonio. The only change in the Eastern Conference is the formerly named Connecticut Whale have returned to being the Hartford Wolf Pack for 2013-14. The League also announced the playoff format will remain the same. Each division winner and the next five best teams by points will qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs.