Maybe Tuukka Rask is the smart one.
He told his Boston Bruins teammates and the world Saturday he was opting out of the 2020 version of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
It was a pretty big deal because Rask is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, and his goaltending was a major factor in the Bruins going to the Stanley Cup Final last season and putting up the best record in the 2019-20 regular season.
“I want to be with my teammates competing,” he said, “but at this moment, there are things more important than hockey in my life, and that is being with my family.”
Rask had rubbed some people — probably mostly fans — the wrong way after the Bruins had lost 3-2 to Carolina on Thursday in Game 2.
“To be honest with you, it doesn’t really feel like playoff hockey out there,” he said. “There are no fans, so it’s kind of like playing an exhibition game.”
It’s easy to see how it could get pretty boring for a goalie standing at the end of the ice by himself in an empty, quiet arena, and he probably is not the only player in this year’s tournament who thinks it doesn’t really feel like the playoffs.
And the longer it goes, the less it will feel like them.
The winning team celebrating a Cup win in front of empty seats will seem really strange. And a little dumb.
It is amazing so many players in the four major sports leagues are sticking with the program. Not because it doesn’t feel right but because they’re being asked to be away from their families.
Who really wants to live in a bubble?
Maybe we’ll find out when this is over teams such as the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have experienced the atmosphere of playing in late-round games in front of insane crowds, just couldn’t get as geeked up because it seemed so artificial.
The Montreal Canadiens, who weren’t supposed to be in the playoffs, apparently don’t have that problem. They’re giving the Philadelphia Flyers as much trouble as they gave the Penguins.
Think the Flyers have that playoff feeling?
The Pittsburgh Steelers and the few remaining NFL teams that have remote training camps won’t have a problem with whatever isolation comes with NFL training camp protocol, but 66 NFL players and five on-field officials have opted out.
If you had made millions and stashed a lot of it away, how long would you be interested in living in a bubble that consisted of a hotel room, a team bus and a hockey rink?
Rask has a newborn baby at home in Finland. He’s 34, has a Stanley Cup ring and has made $50 million in the last seven years.
Can you really blame him for not wanting to be cooped up in a hotel room in Toronto for two months? That’s how long it will be for the two teams that make it to the Final.
You can be pretty sure, as the tournament progresses, a lot of players will wish they had done what Rask did.
Friday night lights
They played high school football Friday night in Utah. Actually, the first game of the season was played Thursday night 25 miles south of Salt Lake City, with a full schedule Friday.
Meanwhile, here in Pennsylvania, the PIAA and the WPIAL are still hoping to change Gov. Tom Wolf’s mind and convince him to recommend the playing fall sports.
They even allowed fans to come to the games in Utah. Stadiums were allowed to be filled to 25% capacity. Players wore masks when they were not on the field and they were sanitized with a spray every time they came to the sideline.
In other words, they figured it out because their governor, Gary Herbert, took the approach that everything possible should be done to make sure that sports are played.
Schools are open, too. Herbert said he based his decision on the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation that kids go back to school.
Maybe Gov. Wolf should give him a call.
