It was announced early on Monday that Boston Bruins top goaltender Tuukka Rask had declined his invitation to the NHL All-Star Game.

With no reasoning provided at the time this information was released, naturally, people began to wonder why Rask would be missing out on the opportunity. Possible injury? Possibly looking for the opportunity to rest before the second leg of the season began?

Later in the day, Rask would end the speculation and speak with the media, addressing his declining of the All-Star Game;

"I was thinking about it a lot when I was looking at the scheduling and there was a possibility of me going,” said Rask. “First of all, it was a great honor to be chosen, obviously and these decisions are tough but for me, but I have to be kind of selfish, thinking how much hockey we played last year and the short summer and thinking of playing till June again and this game basically falling in the middle of our bye week, I wouldn't be able to do anything with the family, so it was kind of a selfish decision to go away with the family, get your mind and body rejuvenated and get ready for the last couple busy months of the schedule.”

“(It's) just because it falls in the middle of the bye week. You want that break and you want to spend time with your family and in this case that really wouldn't be a possibility. It's everyone's personal choice I guess. Nobody really wants to make the league look bad or anything like that. It's just sometimes you have to be selfish in these decisions, thinking of your family and the second part of the season,” said Rask.

Rask will serve a one-game suspension for not participating in the All-Star Game, but seemingly has the support of the Bruins organization.

Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney addressed the situation via text;

"We are respectful of Tuukka's decision to rest and spend some time with his family. We had several talks since his selection. He was torn with the decision because he was honored to be selected to the All-Star Game and he did not want to be disrespectful to the League, his fans and the Bruins but given the long playoff run last year, his history with regards to injuries and the upcoming schedule, Tuukka felt he needed the extra time to recover physically and mentally.”

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy will replace Rask in net for the Atlantic Division.

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