Tim Thomas (ice hockey, born 1974)

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Not to be confused with Tim Thomas (ice hockey, born 1963).

Tim Thomas
Thomas with the Boston Bruins in January 2008
Born (1974-04-15) April 15, 1974 (age 50)
Flint, Michigan, U.S.
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for
HIFK
AIK
Kärpät
Boston Bruins
Jokerit
Florida Panthers
Dallas Stars
National team  United States
NHL draft 217th overall, 1994
Quebec Nordiques
Playing career 1997–2014
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2010 Vancouver
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place
1996 Austria

Timothy James Thomas Jr. (born April 15, 1974) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender who mainly played in the National Hockey League (NHL), most notably with the Boston Bruins.

He was born in

1994 NHL Entry Draft. He played for several years in the minor leagues and Europe, before making it to the NHL at age 28, with the Boston Bruins
. He finally emerged as the Bruins' starting goaltender at age 32.

Thomas is a two-time winner of the Vezina Trophy (2009 and 2011) as the NHL's best goaltender, and was a member of Team USA in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.[4] Thomas won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs. He was the oldest player in NHL history to win the award at age 37. Thomas is one of four American-born players to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, along with Brian Leetch, Jonathan Quick, and Patrick Kane.[5]

Playing career

College hockey

Thomas played four seasons (1993–97) of

NCAA East All-American.[7] He ranks first all-time amongst Vermont goalies in games played (140), wins (81) and saves (3,950). At Vermont, Thomas played on the same team as former NHL All-Star Martin St. Louis
.

Early pro years

Completing his four-year tenure at Vermont, Thomas played briefly for the

TPS
.

In 1999–2000, Thomas returned once again to North America to play for the

Kärpät
. Although the team did not get far in the playoffs, Thomas played a successful season of 32 games with a .925 save percentage.

AHL seasons, NHL debut

Beginning in 2002–03, Thomas played his initial two seasons with Boston's AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. He made his National Hockey League (NHL) debut with the Bruins during the 2002–03 season, appearing in four games total, with a .907 save percentage and a 3–1 record. Thomas recorded his first NHL win in his league debut with the Bruins on October 19, 2002, in a 31-save, 4–3 win against the Edmonton Oilers.[7]

Return to Finland

As a result of the one-season duration NHL lockout in North America, in 2004–05 Thomas joined Jokerit of the SM-Liiga, his fourth stint in Finland. He played in all games of the season except one, 54 games in total, and posted a league-high .946 save percentage. He also surpassed the previous record of 13 shutouts in the league by achieving 15 shutouts during the regular season. Thomas continued to perform in the playoffs, where he played 12 games with a .938 save percentage. However, the team was unable to defeat Kärpät in the finals, and Thomas was awarded his second silver medal in the SM-liiga. He received the Lasse Oksanen trophy (as the league's best player) and the Kultainen kypärä award (as the league's best player award as voted by the players), becoming the first Jokerit player to win the award since Teemu Selänne.

Boston Bruins

In August 2005, Thomas signed to play with Jokerit for the 2005–06 season, but his contract included an NHL option and on September 14, one day before the regular season in the SM-liiga started, Thomas announced he had signed with the Boston Bruins, leaving Jokerit with rookie goaltender Joonas Hallikainen as their sole goaltender. Eventually, Jokerit used three North American goaltenders (Karl Goehring, Steve Passmore and Tom Askey) that season, but missed the playoffs.

When he returned to North America, Thomas was assigned to the Providence Bruins of the AHL out of training camp. However, as Boston suffered injuries to their two goaltenders Andrew Raycroft and Hannu Toivonen, Thomas earned his first call-up to the NHL in three years and took over as the Bruins starter, completing the 2005–06 season with a 12–13–7 record, 2.77 goals against average (GAA), .917 save percentage and his first NHL shutout. As a result, Thomas was awarded the Boston Bruins 7th Player Award, voted by the fans as having gone beyond expectations. In the off-season, Thomas was re-signed by the Bruins to a three-year contract.

Although Boston's previous starter, Andrew Raycroft, was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2006 off-season, Thomas began the 2006–07 season as the Bruins' backup, behind Hannu Toivonen instead. However, as Toivonen struggled, Thomas was again promoted as the Bruins' starting goaltender, eventually posting a 30–29–4 record with a .904 save percentage. He won the 7th Player Award for the second consecutive season and became the first goaltender in team history to win the award twice.

During the 2007 off-season, Thomas began a

NHL All-Star Game on January 22, 2008, as a replacement for Martin Brodeur
and played in the third period of the game, stopping 14 of 18 shots. Thomas was credited with the win, as the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference 8–7.

Early in the

2003).[11] One month later, on February 26, 2009, Thomas recorded his 100th NHL win in a 6–0 shutout against the Anaheim Ducks.[11] On April 2, Thomas agreed to a four-year contract extension with the Bruins, through the 2012–13 season. The contract saw him make $6 million the first two seasons, then $5 million and $3 million the final two seasons for an average annual salary of $5 million.[12] Two days later, on April 4, he posted his career-high fifth shutout of the season in a 1–0 win against the New York Rangers, clinching the top spot in the Eastern Conference, Boston's first title since 2001–02.[13] His strong play allowed the Bruins to sweep the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the 2009 playoffs, however the Bruins were defeated by the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games in the second round. On June 18, Thomas was awarded the Vezina Trophy, edging Minnesota Wild netminder Niklas Bäckström and the Columbus Blue Jackets' rookie goaltender Steve Mason
. He led the NHL with his 2.10 GAA and .933 save percentage.

Thomas started for the Bruins in the

3rd NHL Winter Classic on January 1, 2010. The game, held at Fenway Park in Boston, resulted in a 2–1 overtime victory over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers. But Thomas suffered a drop-off in form during the regular season, posting just a 17–18–8 record, albeit with a still-strong 2.56 GAA. He did not play at all in the 2010 playoffs, as Tuukka Rask played all the games for Boston. The Bruins won their First Round series against the third seeded Buffalo Sabres in six games and led the seventh seeded Philadelphia Flyers three games to none in the Conference semi-final. Boston then lost the next four games to drop the series; the Flyers became just the third out of four teams in NHL history (after the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1975 New York Islanders, and before the 2014 Los Angeles Kings
) to win a series after losing the first three games.

Named to his third straight

Winter Olympics – Thomas became the first goaltender in NHL history to earn the win in three consecutive All-Star Games.[14] In the 2010–11 season, following off-season hip surgery during the summer of 2010, Thomas broke the NHL record for save percentage, beating Dominik Hašek's record of .937, with a .938 percentage. Thomas would go on to win his second Vezina Trophy that year. On May 27, 2011, Thomas posted a 1–0 shutout victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, sending the Bruins to their first Stanley Cup appearance since 1990. In the Finals, Thomas again posted a 4–0 shutout victory in Game 7 against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks to win the series 4–3 and the Bruins' first Stanley Cup title since 1972. During the Bruins' playoff run, he set the record for most saves in a single post-season with 798 and the most saves in a Stanley Cup series with 238, and broke Frank McCool's 66-year-old record of fewest goals allowed in a seven-game Stanley Cup Finals, allowing only eight goals total the whole series (for an all-time record .967 save percentage in the Stanley Cup Finals). Thomas also became the first goaltender ever to post a shutout in a Game 7 on the road. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, and at 37 years, 62 days, Thomas is the oldest recipient of the award. He became just the second American-born NHL player (after Brian Leetch in 1994) and first American-born goaltender to win the award.[15]

Thomas with the Bruins in February 2012

Thomas began the 2011–12 season as a Stanley Cup champion and the defending Vezina and Conn Smythe trophy winner. He played the majority of the 82-game schedule for the Bruins, beating Tuukka Rask for the number one spot for the second consecutive year. Although not completely matching the previous year's record-breaking run, Thomas received the most votes in the 2012 All Star Game Ballot, entering the 2012 NHL All-Star Game as the starting goaltender, and put up another solid year with the Bruins, helping them dominate the NHL with their goal differential for the majority of the year. The defending Stanley Cup champion and second seeded Bruins ended up losing in seven games to the seventh seeded Washington Capitals in the 2012 playoffs in the first round. Every game of the series was won by only one goal. Shortly after the Bruins' season ended, Thomas announced that he would sit out the 2012–13 season. Bruins' general manager Peter Chiarelli confirmed Thomas' decision.[16]

Thomas was traded to the

2015.[17]
Before the trade, the Bruins had suspended Thomas for not reporting to training camp. Thomas did not play any games with the Islanders organization before his contract expired.

Thomas' 196 regular-season wins with Boston ranks him fifth on the team's all-time list as of 2023.

Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars

After taking a year off from the NHL, Thomas joined the Florida Panthers on a tryout contract on September 16, 2013.[18] He officially signed a one-year contract with the Panthers on September 26.[19] Thomas has mentioned he chose 34 as his jersey number with the Panthers in honor of John Vanbiesbrouck, a goaltender from Michigan whom he grew up watching.[20]

Thomas was acquired by the Dallas Stars on March 5, 2014, in exchange for goaltender Dan Ellis. He went back to number 30 in Dallas and served as backup to Kari Lehtonen.[21][22]

International play

Thomas during the 2008 IIHF World Championship

During Thomas'

1996 and made his international debut, playing in 21 minutes for one game, allowing one goal. Thomas picked up his first medal as the United States won bronze. [citation needed
]

After graduating from the college program, Thomas was named to Team USA for the

2005, where he was named to Team USA in another limited role, not appearing in any games behind starter Rick DiPietro as they failed to earn a medal. [citation needed
]

Established as an NHL starter following the

Latvia in the preliminaries. The United States finished in sixth place. [citation needed
]

On January 1, 2010, Thomas was selected to be a member of the United States men's hockey team for the

backup goaltender to the Buffalo Sabres' Ryan Miller. [citation needed
]

On February 26, 2010, Thomas made his Olympic debut in the United States–Finland semi-final, entering the game with approximately 11:30 remaining in the third period and a 6–0 lead. He replaced Ryan Miller to prevent any chance of injury to the American starter. [citation needed]

Thomas wrapped up his hockey career at the 2014 IIHF World Championship. The USA was eliminated in the quarterfinals and Thomas finished with a 3.49 GAA and .869 save percentage on 199 shots.[23]

Personal life

Thomas and wife Melissa have three children:[24] two daughters and a son.[25] Thomas is a Christian[26] and a Libertarian,[27] and has stated that the person he would most like to have dinner with is conservative TV pundit Glenn Beck.[28] After winning the Stanley Cup in 2011, Thomas skipped the traditional victors' meet-and-greet with President Barack Obama at the White House on January 23, 2012; he was the only active Bruin not to attend.[29] He released a statement regarding his absence:

I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People.

This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government.

Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL.

This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic. TT[30]

After retiring from hockey, Thomas resided in Sandpoint, Idaho,[31] and also Milton, Vermont.

Disclosure of brain damage from concussions

In the first few years of retirement, Thomas fell out of the public eye. Reporters' inquiries went unanswered, teammates lost contact, and phone numbers that Thomas used were disconnected. This led to speculation and jokes that he had gone off-grid and isolated himself in a bunker.[32]

In December 2019, at the ceremony for his induction into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, Thomas revealed that he had suffered a concussion in December 2013 by getting hit in the head by a puck from the shot of a teammate during the warmup before a game with the Florida Panthers.[33] The day after that game, Thomas found it extremely difficult to make decisions and communicate with others. He also started to experience suicidal thoughts.[33]

Thomas eventually received a brain scan which showed that two-thirds of his brain was getting less than five percent of typical blood flow while the other third of his brain was around fifty percent below typical blood flow.[34]

With treatment and rehabilitation, Thomas has seen modest improvements in his lifestyle and has been slowly reconnecting with hockey and his community.[35][36]

Awards and honors

Award Year
College
All-ECAC Hockey Rookie Team 1993–94
All-ECAC Hockey First Team 1994–95, 1995–96
AHCA East second-team All-American 1994–95
AHCA East first-team All-American 1995–96

Source: Tim Thomas on HockeyGoalies.org

SM-liiga
NHL

Other

Records

  • Most saves by a goaltender in a playoff run (798)
  • Most saves by a goaltender in a Stanley Cup Finals series (238)
  • Best
    SM-liiga
    save percentage with at least a hundred games played (0.937)

Hockey camps

Thomas runs several ice hockey camps in the Northeast United States during the NHL off-season for both goaltenders and skaters.[37]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season
 Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1992–93 Davison High School HS-MI 27 18 5 4 — 1580 87 9 3.30 .926 — — — — — — — —
1993–94 University of Vermont ECAC 33 15 12 6 — 1864 94 0 3.03 .899 — — — — — — — —
1994–95 University of Vermont ECAC 34 18 13 2 — 2010 90 4 2.69 .914 — — — — — — — —
1995–96 University of Vermont ECAC 37 26 7 4 — 2254 88 3 2.34 .924 — — — — — — — —
1996–97 University of Vermont ECAC 36 22 11 3 — 2158 101 2 2.81 .914 — — — — — — — —
1997–98 Houston Aeros IHL 1 0 0 1 — 59 4 0 4.01 .852 — — — — — — — —
1997–98 Birmingham Bulls ECHL 6 4 1 1 — 360 13 1 2.17 .944 — — — — — — — —
1997–98
HIFK
SM-l
 18 13 4 1 — 1034 28 2 1.62 .947 9 9 0 551 14 3 1.52 .926
1998–99 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 15 6 8 0 — 837 45 0 3.23 .905 — — — — — — — —
1998–99 HIFK SM-l 14 8 3 3 — 831 34 2 2.23 .917 11 7 4 658 25 0 2.28 .920
1999–2000 Detroit Vipers IHL 36 10 21 3 — 2020 120 1 3.56 .892 — — — — — — — —
2000–01
AIK
 SEL 43 17 16 10 — 2542 105 3 2.48 .918 5 1 4 299 20 0 4.00 .875
2001–02
Kärpät
 SM-l 32 15 12 5 — 1937 79 4 2.45 .925 3 1 2 180 12 0 4.00 .903
2002–03 Providence Bruins AHL 35 18 12 5 — 2049 98 1 2.87 .906 — — — — — — — —
2002–03 Boston Bruins NHL 4 3 1 0 — 220 11 0 3.00 .907 — — — — — — — —
2003–04 Providence Bruins AHL 43 20 16 6 — 2544 78 9 1.84 .941 2 0 2 84 10 0 7.13 .655
2004–05 Jokerit SM-l 54 34 7 13 — 3267 86 15 1.58 .946 12 8 4 720 22 0 1.83 .938
2005–06 Providence Bruins AHL 26 15 11 — 0 1515 57 1 2.26 .923 — — — — — — — —
2005–06 Boston Bruins NHL 38 12 13 — 10 2187 101 1 2.77 .917 — — — — — — — —
2006–07 Boston Bruins NHL 66 30 29 — 4 3619 189 3 3.13 .905 — — — — — — — —
2007–08 Boston Bruins NHL 57 28 19 — 6 3342 136 3 2.44 .921 7 3 4 430 19 0 2.65 .914
2008–09 Boston Bruins NHL 54 36 11 — 7 3259 114 5 2.10 .933 11 7 4 680 21 1 1.85 .935
2009–10 Boston Bruins NHL 43 17 18 — 8 2442 104 5 2.56 .915 — — — — — — — —
2010–11 Boston Bruins NHL 57 35 11 — 9 3364 112 9 2.00 .938 25 16 9 1542 51 4 1.98 .940
2011–12 Boston Bruins NHL 59 35 19 — 1 3352 132 5 2.36 .920 7 3 4 448 16 1 2.14 .923
2013–14 Florida Panthers NHL 40 16 20 — 3 2299 110 0 2.87 .909 — — — — — — — —
2013–14 Dallas Stars NHL 8 2 4 — 1 364 18 0 2.97 .902 1 0 0 15 1 0 4.00 .500
SM-l totals 118 70 26 22 — 7,069 227 23 1.93 .937 35 25 10 2,109 73 3 2.08 —
NHL totals 426 214 145 0 49 24,446 1,027 31 2.52 .920 51 29 21 3,114 108 6 2.08 .933

International

Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1995
 United States WC DNP — — — — — — — —
1996
 United States WC 1 0 0 0 21 1 0 2.86 .970
1998 United States WC 1 0 0 0 58 2 0 2.06 .917
1999 United States WC 2 0 2 0 98 7 0 4.29 .910
2005 United States WC DNP — — — — — — — —
2008 United States WC 3 2 0 — 160 4 1 1.50 .925
2010 United States OG 1 0 0 — 12 1 0 5.21 .857
2014 United States WC 8 5 3 — 447 26 0 3.49 .869
Senior totals 16 7 5 0 796 41 1 3.09 —

References

  1. ^ Thorne, Blake (August 25, 2011). "Davison crowd goes wild for star goalie Tim Thomas, Stanley Cup". MLive. "With more than 2,000 people cheering him on at Davison High School's Cardinal Stadium, the Boston Bruins’ Tim Thomas hoisted the Stanley Cup above his head Wednesday on his triumphant return to his hometown."
  2. ^ Maghielse, Ross (June 4, 2012). "Davison native Tim Thomas confirms he's walking away from the NHL". MLive.
  3. ^ "Davison High School Grad Helps Win The Stanley Cup". CBS Detroit, WWJ-TV. June 17, 2011.
  4. ^ "Tim Thomas Stats and News". NHL.com. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  5. ^ Roarke, Shawn P. "Thomas caps amazing season with Conn Smythe". NHL.com. Retrieved June 16, 2011.
  6. ^ "Tim Thomas 1997 - Hockey". uvmathletics.com. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  7. ^ a b c "Tim Thomas". www.hockeygoalies.org. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
  8. ^ Brophy, Mike (November 28, 2007). "Double OT: Tim Thomas, Boston's yoga bear". The Hockey News. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  9. ^ "Thomas records second straight shutout, Bruins top Canucks 1-0". The Hockey News. The Canadian Press. October 29, 2008. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  10. ^ "October was a month of highlights in the NHL". NHL.com. November 3, 2008. Retrieved November 3, 2008.
  11. ^ a b "Tim Thomas: Making Memories At Fenway". nhlpa.com. January 4, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  12. ^ Dupont, Kevin Paul (April 2, 2009). "Thomas's deal: four years, $20 million". Boston.com. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
  13. ^ "Bruins clinch No. 1 spot in NHL East". CBC.ca. April 4, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
  14. ^ Podell, Ira (January 30, 2011). "Briere's 2 goals lift Lidstrom NHL All-Stars". Boston.com. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  15. ^ "Bruins' Thomas takes Conn Smythe award". CBC.ca. The Canadian Press. June 15, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
  16. ^ "Thomas to take 2012-13 season off". NHL.com. June 3, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  17. ^ Cyrgalis, Brett (February 7, 2013). "Islanders acquire inactive goalie Thomas from Bruins". New York Post. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  18. ^ Reynolds, Tim (September 16, 2013). "Panthers bring Tim Thomas in on tryout deal". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  19. ^ "Tim Thomas signs 1-year deal with Panthers". CBC. September 26, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  20. ^ Odebralski, Glenn (October 4, 2013). "Honoring Beezer". NHL.com. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  21. ^ "Panthers send Tim Thomas to Stars". ESPN.com. March 5, 2014. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  22. ^ "Panthers trade goalie Thomas to Stars". NHL.com. March 5, 2014. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  23. ^ "IIHF - Statistics 2014 IIHF ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP". IIHF International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  24. ^ Klein, Jeff Z. (January 24, 2008). "Tim Thomas, All-Star: "It's Funny Even Hearing It to My Ears"". Slap Shot. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  25. ^ Shinzawa, Fluto (June 2, 2012). "Bruins not expecting Thomas to play". Boston.com. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  26. ^ Schapiro, Jeff (June 16, 2011). "Christian Goalkeeper Shuts Down Canucks in Game 7 of Stanley Cup Finals". The Christian Post. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  27. ^ "Bruins goalie skips White House event, blasts GOP, Dems for violating freedom". Libertarian National Campaign Committee. January 25, 2012. Archived from the original on October 1, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  28. ^ "Bruins' Tim Thomas skips White House visit". Vancouver Sun. January 24, 2012. Archived from the original on January 25, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  29. ^ "Tim Thomas Skips White House Ceremony". CBS Boston. January 23, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  30. ^ "Thomas statement on White House absence". NHL.com. January 24, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  31. ^ "Tim Thomas location is a gorgeous resort town in Idaho". May 29, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  32. ^ "Tim Thomas' saga reminds us that empathy still matters". ESPN.com. December 16, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  33. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  34. ^ Whyno, Stephen (December 13, 2019). "Retired goalie Tim Thomas emotionally details brain damage he says came from hockey".
  35. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  36. ^ "Thomas, B's Team Up to Help Vermont Organization | Boston Bruins". www.nhl.com. August 8, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  37. ^ "Tim Thomas Hockey – Hockey Camps, Massachusetts Hockey Camp, Boston Bruins Ice Hockey Goalie, Vermont Summer Camp". timthomashockey.com. December 8, 2010. Archived from the original on December 27, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
Awards
Preceded by
Award created
Ken Dryden Award
1995–96
 Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Kultainen kypärä trophy
2004–05 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Lasse Oksanen trophy
2004–05 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Urpo Ylönen trophy
1997–98 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the William M. Jennings Trophy
with Manny Fernandez
2008–09 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Vezina Trophy
2008–09
2010–11 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy
2011 		Succeeded by
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