Tim Thomas breaks silence, talks memorable tenure in Boston & potential future in hockey

Tim Thomas is a man of few words, especially as of late. 

The netminder that led the Bruins to their first Stanley Cup title in 39 years has largely gone off the grid since the end of the 2013-14 season — his final campaign in the NHL.

In the five years that followed, the 45-year-old Thomas has not made a public appearance — nor has he shed much light on his final seasons with Boston and his abrupt break from the game of hockey.

But on Wednesday, Thomas broke his silence, speaking with reporters via conference call after being named as one of the entrants of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2019. Thomas — along with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Brian Gionta, Krissy Wendel and Neal Henderson — will all be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame during a ceremony in Washington, D.C.on December 12.

"I’m honored to be receiving this recognition," Thomas said. "I'd like to thank USA Hockey for experiences that have led to a storybook life ... My whole life's been rewarding. My time with the Boston Bruins was rewarding. My time with USA Hockey was very rewarding."

Storybook might be underselling it when it comes to Thomas. After graduating from the University of Vermont, the Michigan native had stints in both Finland and Sweden before finding a home in Boston, making his NHL debut in 2002 at age 28 before eventually returning to Finland during the lockout-shortened 2004-05 campaign.

Thomas finally became a regular contributor with the Bruins at age 31, starting an unbelievable run that featured the netminder taking home two Vezina Trophies in 2009 and 2011 as the league's best netminder. Thomas' time in Boston culminated in the spring and summer of 2011, when he became the oldest player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP — leading the Bruins to a Stanley Cup with a .940 save percentage and 1.98 GAA over 25 postseason games.

Thomas still stands the Bruins all-time leader in save percentage (.921), while ranking fourth in shutouts (31), fifth in wins (196) and GAA (2.48), and sixth in games played (378).

Hockey is not simply a thing of the past in the Thomas household, with the goalie noting that his daughter just earned an internship with the Bruins on Tuesday. And while he wasn't present at TD Garden during Boston's latest run to the Cup Final, he did add that he kept tabs on his former team.

"Last year’s playoffs is actually the first year that I started to watch because Boston was doing so well," he said.

Still, when asked if he would ever consider getting involved with the NHL in some capacity down the road, Thomas was candid.



"I don’t personally have any relationship with the game,' Thomas said. "My focus and mind are on learning about other stuff. I learned so much about hockey and that area, and I feel like I learned as much as I needed to learn from it, and my focus is on learning about other stuff.”

Despite being rumored as the potential fan banner captain for Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, Thomas said that such a scenario was never really on the table — and not solely because of his low profile that he has managed to maintain in retirement.

“That’s a tough one," Thomas said of not making an appearance at TD Garden. "With the state of my nervous system since I retired, I wouldn’t be able to hardly handle the energy of the crowd in Boston. So it isn’t as simple as it may seem. Having said that, you never know what the future may hold. I’m just taking life as it goes.”

Still, for all the talk of burned bridges in Boston and his preference to remain under the radar in his post-playing years, Thomas did admit that he still has fond memories of his years in a black and gold sweater.

"It was amazing," Thomas said of the Bruins' Cup run. "Anyone who could semi-put themselves in my shoes for just a minute with that season, it was amazing for me, it was amazing for my teammates, it was amazing for the city. It was an amazing year. I think it's similar for every team that wins a championship whatever city they're in. But my experiences in Boston, the energy of the two million people at the parade after we won, it was pretty wild."

But all those memories are just that — memories — for the standout goalie. For now, it seems as though hockey is a closed chapter in Thomas' storybook life.

And he's perfectly fine with that.

“As far as me getting involved with the game of hockey again, I just don’t see it,” Thomas said. “I have other interests. I live in a totally different world than the hockey world that I lived in before. I live a long ways away from Boston, and it’s not that fun for me to travel anymore. It isn’t anything to do with the Boston Bruins or the Boston fans, especially. My goodness, they loved the crap out of me when I was there to the point where it was hard to handle. So I don’t know (about getting involved in the NHL), but I would highly doubt it.”