Rick Tabaracci has been playing in the National League since 1988-1989. A former goalie for the Cornwall Royals in the Ontario Hockey League - in 1987-88 he won 33 of 59 games, a high - Tabaracci was the Pittsburgh Penguins' second choice in the 1987 draft. He made his debut in the National League with the Penguins in 1988-1989, where he played only one game before going to the Winnipeg Jets.
In 1990-91, during his first season with the team, Tabaracci played 24 games, winning only four and maintaining an average of 3.90. He played another season with the Jets, shuttling regularly between Moncton, in the American League, and Winnipeg before being traded to the Washington Capitals on March 22, 1993 in return for goalie Jim Hrivnak.
In 1993-1994 Tabaracci played 32 games with the Capitals, maintaining an average of 3.08. He wasn't as lucky in 1994-1995; despite Don Beaupre's departure for Ottawa, the arrival of rookie Jim Carey, with young Olaf Kolzig as a backup, limited Tabaracci's ice time to only eight games. He was traded to another team once again during the season, this time to the Calgary Flames, where he played only five games.
In 1995-1996, Tabaracci played the most games of his career (43), maintaining an average of 2.94 with Calgary. Once again, the Flames failed to make it past the first round of the playoffs, losing to Chicago in a four-game series.