Bruins top goalie goes wrong way on opt-out

There are two ways to opt-out as an athlete: the right way and the wrong way. San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey did it the right way. He and his wife adopted twin baby girls that were born prematurely in July. He didn’t want to put mother or kids at risk from COVID-19 and gave his team plenty of advance warning. Who can’t appreciate that?

Penn State’s Micah Parsons and Pitt’s Jaylen Twyman also did it the right way. They elected to opt out on the college football season in order to get ready for next spring’s NFL draft when both are expected to be an early selection. In Parsons’ case, it didn’t really matter since his announcement came just days before the Big Ten postponed its season until at least next spring. Pitt and the ACC still are hoping to play, as scheduled.

There was a time I criticized players for bailing out on their teammates. I hated that kids would skip a bowl game to protect themselves from injury and to start their preparation for the NFL draft. I just thought if you were on a team, you should see the season to its finish. So what if coaches routinely leave their players to take a new job before a bowl game? Like a fool, I overlooked that. Instead, I agreed with the NFL executives who said they wouldn’t want a player such as Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey after he skipped the Sun Bowl after the 2016 season. Not a team player, the execs said.

Right.

The Carolina Panthers drafted McCaffrey with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft. He has become, arguably, the league’s top back and has the contract to prove it. He signed a four-year, $64 million deal in April.

Just think what money McCaffrey would have received if he were more of a team player.

I’m done railing against college athletes for looking out for their best interest. Developments of the past few months have changed my mind. One is the NCAA’s allout fight to deny players benefits from their name, image and likeness. That’s despicable. The schools don’t care about doing what’s right for their athletes. They want to continue to make millions off

the players and keep the money for themselves. And No. 2 is the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s one thing for professional athletes to play despite the health risks. Why should college kids risk getting sick when they aren’t being fairly compensated? I applaud Parsons and Twyman for thinking about their future when their schools don’t really give a damn. I just can’t understand why Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence — the presumptive No. 1 pick in next spring’s NFL draft — will play if the ACC season gets off the ground. It’s his life and his call, obviously. I just think he’s being short-sighted and foolish.

There also are wrong ways to opt-out.

I’m looking at you, Tuukka Rask.

Rask, the Boston Bruins’ top goaltender, complained Thursday about the NHL playoff games being boring in the bubble in Toronto after he was the losing goalie in a loss to Carolina in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series. “It doesn’t really feel like playoff hockey out there,” Rask said. “There’s no fans so it’s kinda of like playing an exhibition game.” Rask then skipped out on his team Saturday morning before Game 3 against the Hurricanes. “I want to be with my teammates competing, but, at this moment, there are things more important than hockey in life, and that is being with my family,” he said in a statement.

Rask’s timing stunk. It would be one thing if Rask had done what Posey did and opted out before the NHL season resumed. But he didn’t, instead choosing to make a commitment to his team, which had the best record during the regular season and is a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. Rask also would have been perfectly justified in leaving the Bruins over the weekend if he had a family emergency. But Boston general manager Don Sweeney said that wasn’t the case, that Rask just missed being with his family.

Sorry, that’s not good enough.

I’m sure every hockey player in the bubble in Toronto or Edmonton misses his family. But they also understand they have an obligation to their teammates. The teammates are supposed to be family, too, right? Rask badly let his guys down if he didn’t have a better reason for going home than being heartsick. He badly let down his bosses, who gave him a $56 million contract.

The NHL has done a fabulous job of getting its season up and running again. Its bubbles — at least so far — have been the safest places in the world when it comes to the virus. If the league is making a mistake, it’s that it will allow players’ family members inside the Edmonton bubble when the four remaining teams convene there for the conference finals and the Cup final. I’m not sure that’s smart.

Regardless, Rask couldn’t wait that long to see his family if the Bruins advance?

The team is marching forward with backup Jaroslav Halak in goal. He was the winning goaltender in Games 3 and 4 against the Hurricanes and is expected to be back in net Wednesday afternoon when Boston will try to close out the series in Game 5.

The Bruins are good enough to win the Cup with Halak. They have said all of the politically correct things about Rask jilting them, but I have to believe they would love to prove they can without him. That would be so satisfying.

If I’m on the Boston team, I don’t want Rask back next season. I don’t want that guy as a teammate.