For perhaps the first time since winning the Stanley Cup a year ago, Tim Thomas finds himself in the news for a somewhat positive season. After much speculation in the last week he will take next year off, he confirmed such rumor with the following post on his Facebook page. It’s good to know he can use his Facebook page for a hockey related post, as it seems he’s been using it for politically-charged posts, promoting charity work and the occasional quote of the day for the past several months.
From the earliest age I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a hockey player. I’ve been blessed in my life to not only be able to live that dream, but to achieve more than I ever thought possible.
The singleminded focus that is necessary to accomplish a dream of this magnitude entails (by necessity) sacrifice in other areas and relationships in life.
At the age of 38, I believe it is time to put my time and energies into those areas and relationships that I have neglected. That is why at this time I feel the most important thing I can do in my life is to reconnect with the three F’s.
Friends, Family, and Faith.
This is what I plan on doing over the course of the next year.
After his “I am not retiring but not coming back next season” statement, he takes the good measure to promote a strength-training system he’s going to use over the course of the next year to stay fit when he returns to the Bruins next season. The interesting thing is, while he posted some of the best statistics of his career last season he didn’t significantly drop off as many people thought. He won as many games and his GAA wasn’t too much higher (2.00 compared to 2.36). He did however, play 14 less minutes, lost eight more games and allowed 20 more goals.
With his contract, he was slated to make $3 million next season and become an unrestricted free agent after next season. Now the Bruins are facing next season with a $5 million cap hit going to waste on a player who isn’t playing… Unless they can trade him to a team so that they have the ability to reach the cap floor. Finding a suitor who would want him could prove to be rather difficult. The Bruins now have the task of signing Tuukka Rask and Marty Turco in goal. Rask is a restricted free agent this off-season while Turco is an unrestricted free-agent. Rask would need assurances the starting role is his to keep in the future if he is able to come to terms with the franchise.
I can’t see him coming back after taking a year off and regaining the same form. He should’ve just played out the last year of his contract and retire.