New England's native son, NO MORE!
From 1993 to 1997, the Tim Thomas hockey era began in New England. Thomas starred in between the pipes for the University of Vermont’s college hockey program in the prestigious Division I NCAA. During his four-year stint, Thomas rocketed as a goaltending prospect Thomas was drafted 217th overall by the Quebec Nordiques in 1994, leading the Catamounts hockey program to two straight NCAA tournament appearances. The 1996 season in particular, Thomas led all of Division I hockey in save percentage (.924%) and brought UVM to their first ever Frozen Four round, suffering a 4-3 double overtime defeat to the runner-up, Colorado College. The final stat line of the greatest goaltender to grace the campus of UVM entailed a superb record of 81-43-15, with a 2.70 Goals Against Average, including a save percentage of .934. Needless to say, the future netminder of the Boston Bruins left a lasting first impression in the hearts of New England hockey fans.
At the conclusion of his senior year, Thomas embarked on a professional hockey career, beginning in the East Coast Hockey League and International Hockey League. After the brief seven game stint in the American hockey minor league ranks, Thomas embarked on a new chapter; European hockey. In the 18 games Thomas played in the Finnish SM-Liga with the HIFK organization, Timmy posted a 13-4-1 record with a 1.62 GAA and .947 Sv%, including two shutouts. During his first European season in net, HIFK captured the Finnish Championship with Thomas posting a godly record of 9-0 with three shutouts in the postseason.
After dominating European hockey in his short tenure; the NHL called upon Thomas’ services. Impressed by Thomas’ play overseas, the Edmonton Oilers signed the goaltender to a minor league contract and Thomas reported to Edmonton’s AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. Struggling with the transition to the North American style of play (6-8-1, 3.23 GAA), Thomas jumped ship back to Finland for HIFK in the middle of the season. Thomas appeared in 14 games for the defending SM-Liga Champions, including a second straight championship berth which he later suffered defeat.
With NHL aspirations still embedded in his heart, Thomas signed on to play for the Detroit Vipers of the IHL in 1999-’00. Thomas struggled in his return stateside (10-21-3, 3.56 GAA, .892%), prompting the goaltender’s return back to Europe, albeit, Sweden’s Elitserien League with the AIK organization. During his season with AIK, Thomas played in a career high, 43 games(17-16-10), posted a respectable GAA of 2.48 and Sv% of .918.
At the conclusion of AIK’s season, Thomas agreed to return to North American hockey, agreeing to a contract with the Boston Bruins’ AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. However, the Thomas-era didn’t start in 2001-’02, as the goaltending enigma elected to return to Finland’s SM-Liga with the organization of Karpat. Thomas didn’t return to the Finnish title game, but he endured his first full season overseas and posted a record of 15-12-5, with a 2.45 GAA and .925 %, including four shutouts.
Following the 2001-’02 season overseas, Thomas reported to the Baby Bruins in Providence, where the goaltender was promised a 60/40 split in playing time. During his first season in Providence, Thomas showed glimpses of NHL caliber skills, posting a record of 18-12-5, with a 2.87 GAA and .906 SV%. A year later, the 2002-’03 season was an unforgettable one for Thomas, as he was called up by the Boston Bruins. Thomas played in four games total (3-1, 3.00 GAA, .907 %) for the B’s, notching his first career NHL victory on October 19th. As a lifelong Bruins fan, this particular game stands out in my memory vault (as it fell on my Birthday) with the unorthodox Thomas making sporadic saves in route to a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers, backboned by Thomas’ 31-save effort.
The NHL season in 2004-’05 was a forgettable one as the NHLPA and NHL owners could not come to terms on a new labor deal, resulting in a lockout. Rather than opting to play in the AHL that season, Thomas chose to return to the Finnish League, marking his fourth career season and third with a different team(Jokerit). During this season, Thomas honed the goaltending craft, setting career highs in games played (54), wins (34), GAA (1.58), Sv % (.946), and shutouts(15). Thomas once again returned to the Finnish title game and he suffered defeat, this time to his former club, Karpat. At the conclusion of the season, Thomas finally added awards to his trophy case, winning the Finnish League’s version of the MVP and Most Outstanding Player.
As a free agent following the NHL lockout, Thomas opted to resign with Jokerit of SM-Liga with an option in the deal that included an opt-out clause to return to the NHL. In prototypical Thomas fashion, the goaltender waited until the eve of Opening Day to use the opt-out clause, leaving Jokerit last minute for the Bruins organization. NHL play resumed in 2005-’06, but Thomas reported back to Providence. By luck of the draw, Bruins goaltenders, Andrew Raycroft and Hannu Toivonen couldn’t stay healthy; opening the door and launching the career for the well-traveled net minder. Thomas went on to win the Bruins’ 7th Player Award after posting a record of 12-13-10, a GAA of 2.77 and SV %.917, including a first career shutout. As a result of his hard work, the Bruins rewarded Thomas with a three-year contract extension.
The Bruins entered 2006-’07 with a logjam in between the pipes with Raycroft, Toivonen and Thomas in camp. Raycroft’s value was still high at the time prompting the Bruins to trade away the former Rookie of the Year winner to the Toronto Maple Leafs for goaltending prospect, Tuukka Rask. With Toivonen thrust into number one goaltending duties, Thomas thrived as the backup. Toivonen never found his footing as a starter and former head coach Dave Lewis handed over the reigns to the mercurial, Thomas. As always, Thomas thrived in the underdog role, playing in 66 games, tallying a record of 30-29-4, with a GAA of 3.13 and Sv% of .905.
After relieving Lewis of his coaching duties and naming Claude Julien as his successor, Bruins management wanted some aid at the goaltending position. In one of the worst moves in Bruins history, General Manager Peter Chiarelli traded forward-prospect, Petr Kalus and a fourth round draft pick to the Minnesota Wild for aging goaltender, Manny Fernandez. As a result of the trade, the Bruins sent Hannu Toivonen to the St.Louis Blues for Carl Soderberg, leaving backup duties to Thomas. Fernandez barely stayed healthy enough to receive a cup of coffee during his tenure in the Hub. In a script few could write, Thomas led the Bruins to postseason play while serving as Marty Brodeur’s replacement in the NHL’s All-Star Game, which he was credited as the winning goalie. The 2007-’08 season was a breakout season for Thomas, who compiled a record of 28-19-6, a GAA of 2.44 and a Sv% of .921. The Bruins faltered in seven games in the first round of the NHL Playoffs, but the play of Thomas was hardly to blame (3-4, 2.65 GAA, .914%).
With sole possession of starting goaltender duties, Thomas entered 2008-’09 primed for a monstrous season. Thomas was elected to his second straight All-Star Game, who found himself as the winning goaltender once again. Taking everyone by surprise, Thomas was overwhelming on opponents, finishing the season at 36-11-7, a GAA of 2.10, a Sv% of .933, including five shutouts. Thomas’ play earned him recognition at the end of the season as the NHL’s best goaltender, earning his first Vezina Trophy. With Thomas leading the way, the Bruins swept the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs. However, the Bruins season came to an abrupt halt in the Eastern Conference semi-finals in game seven when Carolina Hurricanes forward, Scott Walker capitalized on a rebound goal. Once again, Thomas’ play wasn’t to blame for the exit as he posted a 7-4 record, 1.85 GAA, and .935%.
As the 2009-’10 season got underway; as did the hype, fueled by the black and gold faithful. Boston’s Fenway Park was elected host of the NHL Winter Classic, which Thomas started against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Winter Classic victory(2-1) marked the lone bright spot for Thomas that season, who played through a hip injury, but Rask outplayed Thomas, resulting in backup duties for the former Vezina Trophy winner. Rask went on to start in every postseason game for the B’s and Thomas became an afterthought.
Following a heartbreaking collapse in the Eastern Conference semi-finals a season before, the Bruins opened up camp with competition for the starting job in between the pipes. Thomas was full of question marks after offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip, but proclaimed he “never felt better.” Many in the Bruins management contingent leaned towards Rask beating out Thomas in camp, especially with trade winds swirling over Thomas’ head. Yet again in the underdog role, Thomas exceeded expectations and shattered NHL records along the way. At the conclusion of the regular season, Thomas captured the all-time record for Sv% (.938), earning a Vezina Trophy for his record-breaking season. Believe it or not, but when the playoffs rolled around; Thomas’ play improved. Adding on to his record-breaking season, Thomas added four shutouts to his playoff resume, including two shutouts during decisive game seven matchups against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Vancouver Canucks. At the ripe age of 37-years-old, Timmy captured the Conn-Smythe Trophy (MVP of the Playoffs) and Boston’s first Stanley Cup since 1972.
As defending Cup Champions, the Bruins were welcomed to the White House for a meet-and-greet with President Barack Obama. The Bruins goaltender chose not to attend the event with the rest of his teammates, citing political indifferences with current U.S. policies. As a result, Thomas was constantly in the spotlight wherever the Bruins traveled, which many hockey insiders believed would slowly take a toll on the B’s tight-knit unit. If you believe in karma, it was only fitting for the hockey team located in our Nation’s Capital to nail the upset over the defending champions with Thomas in the net. Thomas’ body language and post game comments after the game led many to believe that Thomas was on borrowed time in Boston.
About a week ago, Chiarelli first expressed to the media that Thomas was seriously planning on sitting out the entire 2012-’13 season for family reasons. What many believed to be a ploy by Thomas to gain the upper hand on Bruins management regarding trade talks became a reality on Sunday afternoon.
Via Tim Thomas’ Facebook Account:
“ From the earliest age I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a hockey player. I’ve been blessed in my life to not only be able to live that dream, but to achieve more than I ever thought possible.
The singleminded focus that is necessary to accomplish a dream of this magnitude entails (by necessity) sacrifice in other areas and relationships in life.
At the age of 38, I believe it is time to put my time and energies into those areas and relationships that I have neglected. That is why at this time I feel the most important thing I can do in my life is to reconnect with the three F’s.
Friends, Family, and Faith.
This is what I plan on doing over the course of the next year.
What does this portend for the future?
We’ll see….God’s will be done.
-TT”
It’s hard to argue against the justification of Thomas’ reasons, but not against the manner in which the message was conveyed. No, Thomas didn’t hold an hour-long “Decision” special on NBCSports to announce his sabbatical. No, he didn’t bad mouth the City of Boston or the B’s upper management. What Thomas did elect to do was hold his teammates and organization hostage. What Thomas did commit was media grand larceny by stealing the spotlight away from the two representatives in the Stanley Cup final. What Thomas did do was prove once again he’s a selfish individual in a team-oriented sport. Lastly, what Thomas did omit in his Facebook post was a fourth F; Foolishness. For a player that would forever earn the hearts and respect of the blue-collared workers that make up the City of Boston by retiring, but he chose to put his “energies into those areas,” like he always has; HIMSELF. I’ll conclude by saying, I will never cheer for this guy ever again, even if he changes his mind and wins a Cup in 2012-’13 with the Bruins. Thomas has let Title Town down in every shape and form, and let’s hope Brian Burke (Team USA GM) does the right thing next year when putting together the USA team by leaving Thomas off the roster. But then again, Thomas should know he’s not going to Sochi…No one Forgets.