The list of recent Boston Bruins goaltenders includes a trio of modern-day greats, but Tim Thomas stands out among them.
The former Bruins goalie ranked 16th on NHL.com writers’ list of the best players at the position in the expansion era, which began in 1967. Thomas’ starring role in Boston’s glorious 2010-11 season seems to have boosted him into NHL.com’s “Super 16” ahead of two other Bruins and a host of other contenders for a place.
“Thomas packed a lot into a career that mostly spanned from 2005-14,” NHL.com’s Dan Rosen wrote Wednesday. “He won the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy with the Bruins in 2011, when he won the Vezina for the second time (also 2009). Thomas was 214-145-49 with a 2.52 GAA and .920 save percentage in 426 games.”
Thomas’ exploits earned him induction into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame last year and one ESPN NHL expert’s nod as the “most underrated” American hockey player of all time. Further more, helping the Bruins end a 39-year wait for a Stanley Cup Final triumph will bolster his case in any tight race for inclusion on such a list.
Thomas, who played for Boston between 2002 and 2012, garnered 27 voting points in the NHL.com writers’ poll — for perspective, Martin Brodeur topped the list with 218 points, Ed Belfour was eighth with 108, and Carey Price was 13th with 51. Thomas’ total slightly edged those of Gerry Cheevers’ 20 (he played for Boston between 1967 and 1972 and 1975 and 1980) and Tuukka Rask’s 17 (he debuted at the end of the 2008-09 season and remains Boston’s top goalie).
