Last Wednesday the Bruins won the Stanley Cup. They beat the favored Vancouver Canucks 4 games to 3, winning the final game on Vancouver's ice 4-0. Thomas had great series, allowing only 8 goals in 7 games. He was an easy choice for the Conn Smythe award for playoff Most Valuable Player. He's a shoe-in to win the Vezina Trophy for most outstanding goaltender when it's awarded in a couple of weeks. The guy is a super star! He's the best goalie in Bruins history. And he just won us our first Stanley Cup in almost 40 years. I'm a life long Bruins fan. So of course I like the guy. But it's more than that. I LOVE this guy!
Thomas is Everyman. He’s a regular sized guy from a normal background. He's been told he's too small to be an NHL goalie his whole life. His style has been criticized as 'flopping' by all the 'experts' for as long as he's been playing. But Thomas is an overachiever. Telling him he can't do something just makes him work harder. He's persistent. He's strong-willed. He's learned to overcome tough odds. You can not help routing for guys like Thomas.
He's been successful pretty much everywhere he gone. But he's continually had to re-prove himself. Nothing has been handed to him. He's overcome his size disadvantage by being quicker, more flexible and more aggressive than conventional goalies. And he's humble. I'll bet I've heard a hundred interviews with Thomas and he's never once sounded anything other than humble. He seems like a genuine nice guy.
I've been following Thomas' career since his days at UVM, when he, Martin St. Louis and Eric Perrin led us to our first Frozen Four appearance (1995-1996). St. Louis and Perrin were the lightening quick goal scorers. Each had 29 goals and 56 assists that year; 85 points each! Thomas was the dynamic goaltender. He won 26, with a 2.34 goals against average and a .924 save percentage. UVM had its best season ever. They went 27-7-4 overall and dominated the ECAC with a 17-2-3 mark. They were ranked #1 for much of the season, but ultimately lost a heart breaker in the semifinals, in double overtime, on an obvious hand pass. Thomas, St. Louis and Perrin were named All-Americans. St. Louis went undrafted by the NHL, but went on to have a glorious career, including a scoring title and an MVP. Perrin also played in the NHL for a few years, even hooking up with St. Louis in 2004 for a Stanley Cup of their own.
Thomas' collegiate numbers:
Tim Thomas (1993-97) 140 81-44-15 2.70 .914. Thomas still ranks third in the NCAA Division I record book in career saves (3,950).
Believe me when I say that I LOVED researching Thomas' past. Everything I found just made me LOVE the guy more.
Thomas grew up in a blue collar environment. He was unrecruited coming out of high school (Divison/Flint, Michigan). He continued to fly under the radar playing junior league hockey. Then, playing in an Olympic Festival (whatever that is), he caught the attention three non-powerhouse Division I schools: Western Michigan, UMASS-Lowell and Vermont. He selected UVM because the coach told him he'd be able to compete for a job right away.
I've noted Thomas' success at UVM. But it didn't translate to being welcomed into the NHL. Thomas was selected 217th overall by the Quebec Nordiques. He graduated UVM with a Bachelor of Arts in English and played in a bunch of different places before landing in the NHL with the Bruins in 2005-06.
In 1997–98, he played for the Birmingham Bulls (East Coast Hockey League) and the Houston Aeros (International Hockey League), then went overseas mid-season to HIFK of the Finnish SM-Liiga. Thomas played 18 games with a save percentage of .947. HIFK won the Finnish championship.
In 1998-99, Thomas signed with the Edmonton Oilers. He played for the Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL), but again transferred to HIFK, where they lost in the finals.
In 1999–2000, Thomas played for the Detroit Vipers (IHL).
In 2000-01, Thomas played for AIK of Sweden's Elitserien.
In 2001-02, Thomas joined the Boston Bruins organization, but chose to continue playing in Europe, returning to the Finnish SM-Liiga with Kärpät of Oulu. Thomas' team didn't advance far in the playoffs, but in 32 games, he recorded a .925 save percentage.
In 2002–03, Thomas played his initial two seasons with the Providence Bruins (AHL). He appeared in four games with the Boston Bruins, and recorded a 3-1 record with a .907 save percentage.
In 2004–05, Thomas returned to Finland, joining Jokerit of the SM-Liiga, his fourth stint in Finland. He played in 54 games, compiling a league-high .946 save percentage. He set a league record 15 shutouts during the regular season. He played 12 playoff games with a .938 save percentage. Jokerit lost in the finals. Thomas was awarded the league MVP.
In 2005-06, Thomas was back with the Bruins. He was assigned to Providence out of training camp, but was brought up to Boston after Andrew Raycroft and Hannu Toivonen suffered injuries. Thomas went 12–13–7 with a 2.77 goals against average, a .917 save percentage in his first season as an NHL starting goalie. The fans voted him as the 7th Player Award, as having gone beyond expectations.
In the 2006 off-season, Thomas was re-signed by the Bruins to a three-year deal. Boston's previous starter, Andrew Raycroft, was traded.
In 2006–07, Thomas began the season Bruins' backup, but was promoted after Hannu Toivonen struggled. Thomas went 30–29–4 with a .904 save percentage. He again won the 7th Player Award.
In the 2007 off-season, the Bruins acquired goaltender Manny Fernandez and traded Hannu Toivonen away. Most assumed Thomas would back-up Fernandez, but after Fernandez was injured early in the season, Thomas became the starter. He was selected for his first NHL All-Star Game as a replacement for Martin Brodeur and was credited with the win.
In 2008–09 Thomas started the season as the Bruins primary goaltender and had a great season. He was chosen to play in his second All-Star Game and once again got the win. He agreed to a four-year extension (average $5 million/year) and led the Bruins to the Northeast Division title and top Conference seeding. Boston swept Montreal in the first round of the playoffs, but lost to Carolina in seven games in Round 2. Thomas was awarded the Vezina Trophy at the NHL awards as the league’s best goalie. He led the NHL with a 2.10 goals-against average and .933 save percentage.
In 2009-10 Thomas didn't play as well as he had the previous season. He posted a 17–18–8 record with a respectable 2.56 GAA. It was said that Thomas was injured, but Thomas never complained. Tukka Rask outplayed Thomas and became the starting goalie. Rask played all the playoff games for Boston. The Bruins won their Conference quarter-final series, and led Philadelphia three games to none in the Conference semi-final before losing the next four games and dropping the series.
In the 2010 off-season, Thomas had hip surgery. There was talk that the Bruins were exploring trading him. The most likely destination was Philadelphia, a team that had reached the Stanley Cup Finals the previous season and lost mostly due to poor goaltending. But the trade never happened and Thomas remained in Boston.
In 2010-11 Thomas had one of the greatest seasons in NHL history. He began the season in competition with Tukka Rask for the starting job. Thomas win that quickly, recording victories in his first 7 games, winning 3 by shutout and giving up a total of 5 goals. Then he stayed hot the whole year. He broke the NHL record for save percentage, beating Dominik Hasek's record of .937, with a .938 percentage. He recorded a career and league best 2.00 goals against average, while recording 9 shutouts. He led the Bruins to a Northeast Division championship. Then in the playoffs, he got even better. He played all 25 playoff games, and won 16 of them. His save percentage was .940, with a 1.98 GAA. He recorded 4 more shutouts. Amazing! He won the Conn-Smythe award as the best player in the NHL playoffs. And he'll easily win the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goalie.
Along the way, Thomas was credited with his third All-Star game win, making him the first goaltender in league history to earn the win in three consecutive All-Star Games. He beat Montreal in Game 7 of the Opening Round. He shutout the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. And he shut out the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
He's the first American born Conn Smythe Trophy winner in 17 years; the second ever. Thomas recorded a ridiculous .940 save percentage and 1.98 goals against average in the playoffs, leading many to recall the work of Dominic Hasek (aka 'The Dominator'). Alas, Thomas' numbers compare favorably with Hasek's. During the Bruin's playoff run, he set the record for most saves in a single post season (798), and the most saves in a Stanley Cup series (238). At 37 years, 62 days, Thomas also became the oldest Conn Smythe Trophy winner.
Any time any of these amazing accomplishments are mentioned, Thomas is quick to credit his teammates. Following Game 7 of the Conference Finals (a 1-0 victory over Tampa), he praised his teammates, especially defenseman Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg. "All of my defense has done a great job. Zdeno and Dennis really had incredible games tonight. Dennis Seidenberg was blocking shots right up there until the last minute. They couldn't even get in the zone because he was blocking everything at the blue line." He even praised the Tampa goalie Dwayne Roloson, saying he thought Roloson had the better night. "I was concerned about Roloson playing so well. He played an unbelievable game today. It put a lot of pressure on me. We came out and we got a lot of shots and did everything we needed to do to win, and he held them in and basically made me have to save everything."
He's an ordinary guy who succeeds because he works hard. He's humble and shares praise with teammates and adversaries. He's brought the first Stanley Cup to Boston in nearly 40 years. I LOVE Tim Thomas!
