(Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Some hockey fans might not remember what team goaltender Tim Thomas finished his NHL career with. Believe it or not, he was a member of the 2014 Dallas Stars Playoff team.
The Flint, Michigan, native was the 217th overall pick by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1994 NHL Draft. It wasn’t until Oct. 19, 2002, at 28 years old that Thomas would make his NHL debut for the Boston Bruins; he won his first start. Thomas would only make two more starts in the 2002-03 season.
Thomas would have to wait until the 2005-06 season to play again. In the 2007-08 season, Thomas broke out. He won 28 games while making 55 starts and having a 2.44 GAA.
The following year, Thomas and the Bruins each had incredible regular seasons. Thomas won his first Vezina with a 36-11-7 record and led the league with a .933 SV% and 2.10 GAA and the Bruins were the second best team in the league and the top seed in the Eastern Conference with 116 points. But, the Bruins were eliminated at home following a Game 7 loss in overtime to the Hurricanes in the second round.
2011 was memorable for Thomas and the Bruins. Thomas won his second Vezina Trophy in three seasons with a 35-11-9 record and led the league with a .938 SV% and a 2.00 GAA.
For the first time in 39 years, the Bruins won the Stanley Cup over the President’s Trophy winner Vancouver Canucks on the road for Game 7. Thomas recorded a 37-save shutout and won the Conn Smythe Trophy. Thomas won all 16 games and had a .940 SV% and a 1.98 GAA in the 2011 Playoffs.
Thomas’ time in Boston would come to an end after the 2012 Playoffs after he would sit out the 2012-13 lockout 48-game season. After sitting out for one season, Thomas returned and signed with the Panthers one week before the 2013-14 season. Thomas started 40 games and had a 16-20-3 record with a .908 SV% and 2.87 GAA for the Panthers.
In the 2013-14 season for the Stars, Kari Lehtonen was the number one starter and Dan Ellis served as the backup. On March 5, 2014, the Stars traded Ellis to the Panthers in exchange for Thomas.
(Jerome Miron/USA TODAY Sports)
After being acquired by the Stars, Thomas played started in five of the eight games he played. Thomas recorded a 2-4-1 record with a .902 SV% and 2.97 GAA. The Stars returned to the Playoffs for the first time in six years.
Thomas made a relief appearance in goal in Game 5 in the Stars’ matchup against the Ducks with the Stars trailing 5-2 in the third period. In Game 6, the Stars lost the series in overtime and Thomas retired from the NHL.
In a 2019 interview, Thomas revealed that his post-concussion symptoms were so bad he couldn’t make simple decisions and his brain wasn’t functioning well so he could watch hockey.
In 2019, Thomas was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. In his NHL career, Thomas recorded a 196-121-45 with a .921 SV% and a 2.48 GAA.
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