Thomas’ pro hockey journey now contains Vezina Trophy

By Ryan Greene

Thursday, June 18, 2009 | 11 p.m.

When Tim Thomas recently purchased a new home, the Boston Bruins goaltender didn't bother checking out the mantle space.

After nearly a decade of bad breaks and sacrifice, he'd figured there was no point.

"I wouldn't let myself think about winning a trophy, so I wouldn't let myself think about a mantle until now," said Thomas, who on Thursday night walked away with a pair of relics from the NHL Awards at the Pearl Theater at the Palms. "I'm gonna have to make a place for them, but I can't wait."

Thomas, who went 36-11 in 54 starts and maintained a 2.10 goals against average while leading the Bruins to an Eastern Conference regular season crown, began his night by winning the William M. Jennings Trophy along with teammate Manny Fernandez.

The trophy goes to the goaltender(s) on the club with the fewest goals allowed.

The prized piece, though, came in the form of the Vezina Trophy, given to the NHL's top goalie. He beat out Minnesota's Niklas Backstrom and Columbus' Steve Mason. He became the first Bruins keeper to win the award since Pete Peeters did so in 1983.

Thomas, at that point, became the first award winner of the night to get choked up on the podium. It's debatable as to whether he actually cried, but his emotions were apparent.

Few could blame the 35-year-old who has played less than four full seasons in the league.

"I kind of didn't allow myself to think that I might win, because first of all, the names on the list (of previous winners)," he said. "You look. Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur. I was looking at them just today and it's humbling, because the goalies that have won it before are so good and it's hard to let yourself put yourself on that level in your head.

"Sometimes, throughout the course of my career, I've had so many times where I got my hopes up and had them come crashing down around me, so maybe it teaches you to not let your hopes get up too high. Especially about individual awards. Maybe that's part of the reason I was a little bit unprepared when I won."

Thomas' overflowing emotions partially came from reflecting on the odd journey that has been his pro career to date.

Since being a ninth round selection of the Quebec Nordiques in 1997 out of the University of Vermont, he played through four stints in Finland.

Thomas said his low point came at the start of the 2002-03 season, when he decided to take an offer to join the Bruins after a successful and enjoyable season in his league across the pond.

"I'd already made peace with the fact that I'd never get a shot in the NHL," the Michigan native said. "Then Boston calls, and it was a tough decision to come back because I was in a great situation in Finland, and I came back thinking I was gonna be in the NHL for sure. Then I got sent down to the minors. That was devastating to me at the time.

However, with the support of coach Scott Gordon when he got sent to the Providence Bruins to start the season, the lowest of his lows became an unexpected turning point.

"It took me about a month before I could get my mind back in the right place," Thomas said. "I said to myself 'You're still playing hockey, so you might as well play it to the best of your ability.' And that was the year I wound up getting called up."

Since then, all he's done is improve along with the Bruins, who in 2008 snapped a three-year playoff drought, and has been an all-star each of the past two seasons.

"The thing is, with Tim, as I've told so many people, when he's done playing, he's got a great book to write," said Bruins coach Claude Julien, who won the Jack Adams Award as the league's most outstanding coach. "And not just about his pro career. You can back it up a long ways, and some of the sacrifices his family made for him to succeed and what he's battled through, it's an amazing story."

It's a story that Thomas' friends find just as inspiring.

"I don't like to talk about it, but look how far I've come," Thomas said. "Four years ago? It wasn't even worth dreaming about. If I was telling my friend four years ago that I was gonna win the Vezina in a couple of years, they'd be like 'OK. You're having a hard time finding a job in Finland.'

"I've already heard it from one teammate and from one friend, that I made him cry. So I'm not the only sissy."

Now, as Thomas hopes to push the Bruins further along in the playoffs in 2009-10, he'll also have the underlying pressure of repeating as the Vezina winner.

To Thomas, once is enough. And even though he wouldn't admit it, there had to be some satisfaction deep down in winning the award that is voted upon by the league's 30 general managers -- many of the same GMs who took a pass on him over the years.

"When you're judging a person on talent or ability, it's hard, and sometimes you've got to make difficult decisions," he said. "I'm very happy that I made it through waivers that time, because maybe I wouldn't be here today. It seems that I was meant to be in Boston, and it's worked out great."

Sun reporter Ryan Greene can be reached at (702) 948-7844 or at [email protected].