by Bob Morello
Bruins Tim Thomas Named The Tradition Honoree
Tim Thomas was named the 2025 Hockey Legacy Award Honoree at the Sports Museum’s The Tradition, to be held on Tuesday, November at the TD Garden. Thomas will be honored along with Fred Lynn (Red Sox), Isaiah Thomas (Celtics), Vince Wilfork (Patriots), along with Track and Field’s Olympic Medal winner Gabby Thomas, and Vermont native, 2011 PGA Champion, golfer Keegan Bradley. It’s ironic that the 2025 list of Honorees contains three athletes, all with the surname of Thomas. Tim Thomas is well-known to Boston’s hockey fans, as he backboned the Bruins to their 2011 Stanley Cup Championship, and was also named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player (MVP).
Thomas’ journey to the National Hockey League was not an easy one, as it included multiple stop in the United States and Europe. It all began when he was selected 217th overall by the Quebec Nordiquess in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. The Flint, Michigan native played his college hockey at the University of Vermont (1993-97), where his stats still rank first all-time amongst UVM goaltenders in games played (140), wins (81), and saves (3,950). Having completed his college career, Thomas spent time in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), and the International Hockey League (IHL) – 1997-98, before heading overseas to join the Finnish SM-Liga, where he led his team to the Finnish Championship. Following some time in the American Hockey League (AHL), Thomas returned to play hockey in Finland once.
In 2001, Thomas joined the Boston Bruins organization, but chose to continue playing in Europe. In August 2005, Thomas signed to play with Jokerit for the 2005–06 season, but his contract included an option, one that would allow him to sign with an NHL team, on September 14, one day before the regular season began in SM-Liga, Thomas announced he had signed with the Boston Bruins. Upon his return to North America, Thomas was assigned to the Providence Bruins of the AHL out of training camp. The Bruins suffered injuries to both their goaltenders – Andrew Raycroft and Hannu Toivonen, earning Thomas his first NHL call-up. In three years he took over as the Bruins starter, finishing up the 2005-06 season with a 12-13-7 record, 2.77 goals-against-average, and a 917 save percentage, while notching his first NHL shutout. Thomas topped it off by winning the Boston Bruins 7th Player Award, voted by the fans. Thomas was signed to a three-year contract in the off-season by the Bruins. Despite serving his first season (2006-07) as backup for Toivonen, the latter’s struggles led to a promotion for Thomas to the top spot as the Bruins’ starting goalie. His 30-29-4, was acknowledged by Bruins fans, as he once again was awarded the Boston Bruins 7th Player Award, for the second consecutive season. It sounds complicated, but it was a well-earned, well-traveled mission that Thomas was able to accomplish!