Tim Thomas watches the puck slide past him in the 2012 playoffs vs. Washington; Mandatory Credit: Getty Images

For a guy who perhaps embodied “The American Dream,” Thomas could not even put personal politics aside to enjoy a celebration with his teammates.  After winning the Stanley Cup in 2011, US President Barack Obama extended an invitation for the Bruins to join him at the White House while in the midst of a road trip the following season.  One of just two American-born players of that Bruins squad (and the only one of them to dress in the 2011 playoffs), this honor should have meant more to Thomas than to any of the others.  Yet on January 23, 2012, Thomas was a no-show.

In fact, Thomas was the only active Bruins player to skip the White House meet-and-greet and press conference.  He released a statement explaining his actions as exercising his “right as a Free Citizen” via his Facebook page, but still left his teammates and team personnel as the front line making excuses for him and downplaying the matter.

Although Thomas wrote that “this is the only public statement I will be making on this topic,” this was certainly not the case.  It is unclear how much of a distraction this exploit of insubordination was within the dressing room, but it no doubt weighed on Thomas’ teammates to have to answer questions every day about the embattled goaltender.

Still, the company line remained.  ‘Timmy is our goalie.  Timmy is our guy.’  As long as “The Tank” was stopping pucks, who cares what he believes in?

Goalies can be quirky guys.  Tim Thomas is certainly not an exception.  He’s always come across as a simple, hard-working guy, with exceptional drive and focus.  We focused so much on his journey to the top and his trials and tribulations along the way, that it came as a shock to many that he might actually have opinions on things outside of the arena.  Agree or disagree with his political beliefs (or to the extent he goes to ascertain them), but as long as he’s not causing a mutiny amongst teammates, this is not a problem.  The problem arose when Thomas decided that bringing his opinions to the light of day meant more than participating in a light-hearted, well-earned team celebration.

We have to assume that Thomas held these beliefs for some time, long before they became public.  His teammates were likely aware, to various extents, of Thomas’ political standing.  Until January 23, 2012, none of this was an issue.  Upon skipping the White House visit and releasing his Facebook statement, Thomas had officially created a distraction.

That distraction, as well as his comments siding with Chic-Fil-A against gay marriage, seemed to linger for most of the season, cooling off only as the stretch run to the playoffs heated up.  Sure enough, Boston drew the Washington Capitals in the first round, reminding everyone of the Thomas/White House situation.

After a first round playoff exit, Thomas announced he would be sitting out the 2012-13 season to focus on what he was calling “The Three F’s: friends, family, and faith.”  When Thomas didn’t report to training camp following the end of the lockout, it left Boston no choice but to suspend him.  Slated to make $3 million this season, the Bruins weren’t required to pay him in real dollars but were still forced to carry his $5 million cap hit, the average annual value for the final season of his four-year, $20 million deal.

On their roster, Boston wasn’t exactly left hanging out to dry with Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin.  In terms of their salary cap management, however, the Black & Gold were stuck with dead money relative to roughly 14% of their total cap allowance ($70.2 million).  Because Thomas was over 35 years old when the contract went into effect, his cap hit would not go away even if he retired.  With the Bruins brushing up against the upper limits of the salary cap ceiling, how could they unload this albatross?

Enter the New York Islanders

By today, February 8, the 20^th day of the season, all teams needed to be cap compliant.  This meant slotting your cap money both below the ceiling and above the floor.  The Islanders entered Thursday just barely above the minimum payroll of $44 million.  By taking on Thomas’ contract, even without Thomas himself coming on board, the Islanders have added $5 million in payroll flexibility in order to allow them more freedom in transactions, without paying out any more real dollars.

The Islanders can now decide whether or not to let Thomas’ contract run out after this season, rendering him an unrestricted free agent, or to toll it forward, meaning that the same issues from this season would be in play next season.

Thomas is considered unlikely to play for the Isles this season.  As far as anyone knows, he has been standing firm on his insistence to sit this season out.  Islanders General Manager Garth Snow isn’t likely to push Thomas to join the team either, as they currently possess two veteran netminders with starting experience in Evgeni Nabokov and Rick DiPietro.

That brings us to the issue of compensation.  The exchange is a conditional 2^nd round draft pick from NYI in either 2014 or 2015.  Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli explained that “without getting into specifics, the [draft pick] condition is basically if [Thomas] plays.”  Assuming Thomas does not play in one game for Long Island (or be traded elsewhere by the organization), Boston will not receive compensation.

What does this mean for the Boston Bruins?

For Boston, this gives the team an additional $5 million in cap space.  By placing Marc Savard on long term injured reserve, they can additionally exceed the cap for his $4+ million, as well.  This flexibility now gives them the cap space to acquire nearly any player in the NHL.

The window for teams to achieve success in the salary cap era of the NHL doesn’t last very long.  Just ask the Chicago Blackhawks.  For Boston, the time is now.  The future certainly looks bright and a lot of younger players have been locked up, but this is a fickle league and things can change in an instance.  Just ask Marc Savard.

The Bruins are currently sitting atop the Eastern Conference.  They have a deep, well-rounded team, with a core that has achieved recent success.  All this has occurred with the 29^th-ranked powerplay.  Now Boston has the cap space to go out and add that top tier goal scorer or powerplay specialist, or even to strengthen their third line wing.  Maybe they trade for a veteran backup goaltender.  Maybe they go after Jarome Iginla.

Iginla, the Calgary Flames captain, is currently in the last year of his deal.  The power forward has been linked to the Bruins through various trade rumors in recent years, as his Calgary squad has struggled.  The rugged, veteran winger is believed to be of the Bruins mold and has the ability to be their top scorer.

Furthermore, trading Thomas has completely removed any worries from the front office or from Rask that he could wake up tomorrow and decide to return.  For the front office, the problem just amounts to having three goalies, though one still could’ve been dealt.  There’s also no reason that Head Coach Claude Julien would have to play Thomas.

Tuukka Rask has been on a roll.  For the first time in his career, he’s been named the starting goaltender without having to look over his shoulder at Thomas.  Although he was Boston’s starter in the 2010 playoffs and was presumably the starter to begin the 2010-11 campaign, it took all of one game (one Thomas shutout) for Rask to have that job pulled from underneath him.  As friendly as Rask and Thomas reportedly are (and remain), there is no reason to play any games with Rask’s comfort or confidence in Boston’s crease right now.

At the end of the day, this was a good move for both parties.  The Islanders move up a little higher from the floor and the Bruins move a little lower from the ceiling.  Though complications could arise should Thomas choose to report to New York, such a scenario seems unlikely.  For the Bruins, this was a rather unceremonious end to the Black & Gold chapter of a man who once stood a god in the city of Boston.  His legacy may have taken a hit over the last 13 months, but it will be repaired with time.  The brilliance of Tim Thomas will be remembered in Boston, and in the record books, for as long as they both shall stand.  (see Part 1)

Tim Thomas Raises The Stanley Cup in 2011; Mandatory Credit: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Just reaching the NHL was a journey in itself for the man they call “The Tank.”  As a youngster born in Flint and growing up in Davison, MI, Thomas’ parents once pawned their wedding rings in order to pay for his trip to play in a hockey tournament.

Fast forward to the 1994 NHL Entry Draft where the 5’11” 201 lb. goaltender was drafted in the 9^th round, 217^th overall by the Quebec Nordiques out of the University of Vermont.  At UVM, Thomas put together a career record of 81-43-15 with a 2.70 GAA and .934 save percentage, leading the nation in save percentage in 1996.

After starring for four years for the Catamounts, people were still doubting Thomas.  He split the following 1997-98 season between the Birmingham Bulls of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), Houston Aeros of the old International Hockey League (IHL), and HIFK Helsinki of the SM-liiga in Finland, where he would win the Kanada-malja, the league’s championship trophy.  That was just one season.  The following four seasons, Thomas would bounce from the American Hockey League (AHL) back to the SM-liiga, to another IHL team, to the Swedish Elite League (SEL/Elitserien), to another SM-liiga team.  It wasn’t until 2002-03, after spending most of the year with the AHL Providence Bruins, that Thomas would make his long-awaited NHL debut with Boston.

With an NHL cup of coffee on his resume, Thomas returned to Finland during the 2004-05 lockout.  Playing in 54 of 55 games that season for Jokerit of the SM-liiga, Tank lead the league with a .946 save percentage and a record-setting 15 shutouts.  He was presented with the league’s awards for “best player” and “best player as voted on by the players.”  The MVP would return to North America when the lockout was lifted.

Back in Black & Gold

Thomas rose to prominence in Boston during the 2005-06 season, filling in for injured goaltenders Andrew Raycroft and Hannu Toivonen.  He posted some pretty good numbers that season, but was lauded mainly for being a workhorse, again seemingly manning the crease every night.  His unorthodox style made for a pretty highlights package, but people questioned how much he could get by on pure athleticism.  His next two seasons, Thomas was forced to battle off challengers every year, always coming into the season as the backup or co-starter to guys like Toivonen or Manny Fernandez, before emerging as the team’s top netminder by year’s end.

In order to play for the big club that breakout season, Thomas even had to clear re-entry waivers from Providence.  After seeing the way he would steal games for the Bruins over the next seven seasons, rival general managers had to be kicking themselves for not putting a claim in and gobbling up Thomas for nothing more than space on their roster.

In both 2005-06 and 2006-07, Tank won the Boston Bruins 7^th Player Award, an annual award that is “presented to the Bruin who went above and beyond the call of duty.”   A nice award, to be sure, but Thomas wasn’t satisfied.  In 2008-09, a teary Tim Thomas won the Jennings Trophy (along with Fernandez for fewest goals allowed by a team) and the coveted Vezina Trophy, as the league’s top goaltender.  Thomas had reached the individual height of his profession.  He wasn’t done.

A Season For The Ages

Battling a sore hip, Thomas took a step back in 2009-10, losing his starting job to Tuukka Rask by the time they playoffs had rolled around.  After offseason hip surgery, Boston’s projected “1-B” goaltender returned on a mission.  Not only did he snatch back his job, Thomas set a new NHL record with a .938 save percentage en route to his second Vezina Trophy.  As hard as it is to believe, Thomas played even better when it mattered most, recording Game 7 shutouts to clinch both the Eastern Conference Finals and the Stanley Cup, the first ever Game 7 Stanley Cup shutout by a visiting team’s goaltender.  He even elevated his record-breaking regular season save percentage to .967 in the Stanley Cup Finals, another new record.

With such a dominant performance allowing just eight goals in seven Stanley Cup Finals games (another record) to go with his total body of work (playing every minute of his team’s playoff run), it is no surprise that Thomas was also awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.  At 37 years old, Thomas became the oldest player to ever receive the award and the first American-born goaltender to do so.

In 2010-11, Thomas enjoyed the best season for a goaltender in NHL history.  He was the first goaltender to win the Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe, and Vezina trophies in the same season since Bernie Parent in 1974-75, plus he had rewritten the record book along the way.  If his career arc had indeed reached the top, no one expected it to fall so quickly, so dramatically.  Check out Part 2 for Thomas’ downfall and to find out where the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders will go from here.

April 16, 2012; Washington, DC, USA; Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas (30) follows the puck against the Washington Capitals during the second period of game three of the 2012 Eastern Conference quarterfinals at Verizon Center. The Bruins won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The strangest thing about this trade is that Tim isn’t even playing right now. He announced over the summer that he would not be playing in the 2012-2013 season and was suspended by the Bruins when he didn’t show up for training camp. It will be a while before we see who wins this trade, I don’t know if we can even speculate at this point. As good as Thomas is you never know who a draft pick will be and this being the final season in Thomas’s contract with the Bruins, there is definitely the question of who he will sign with next season (most likely the Islanders now but hey stranger things have happened).

Tim Thomas has many moments that he will be remembered for. The one most people think of is his refusal to visit the White House with his teammates when they won the Stanley Cup in 2011. What I think of when I hear Tim Thomas is his Discover Card commercial. If you haven’t seen it, I have it here. Give it a watch you won’t be disappointed.