NHL: Bruins Goalie Thomas Is Taking Some Time Off

The latest news involving goaltender Tim Thomas has nothing to do with skipping visits to the White House nor his mustache, which has its own Facebook page. No, the story — which has been confirmed by the Boston Bruins — is that he will be taking a year off from the NHL; apparently it’s not a retirement at this point, only a sabbatical.

Thomas is 38 years old and was drafted by a team which no longer exists (the Quebec Nordiques took him in the ninth round, 217th overall, in the 1994 entry draft) and whose career had been little more than average until 2009. In that year the native of Flint, Michigan, collected a Vezina Trophy as the league’s top netminder. He would emerge again in much more famous fashion in the 2010-11 season as he led the Bruins, the only NHL team he’s ever played for, to the Stanley Cup championship and picked up the Conn Smythe Trophy along with another Vezina in the process.

By all accounts Thomas is still in good shape, so why is this a talking point? There could be political ramifications to this. The collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players’ union expires on Sept. 15, and there might be a walkout or a lockout. If that happens, it’s very likely Thomas would not want to be caught up in either a picket line or other involuntary down time. As shown in the White House snub incident, Thomas’s personal politics lean towards Republicanism — although he might identify more with the Libertarian movement. Either way, presumably he’s not a big fan of unions.

It will be interesting to see if this is considered a breach of contract with the Bruins; his deal with them doesn’t run out until 2013, and his no-trade clause expires on July 1. This could also be a ploy to chill the talk of a trade, as hockey analyst Bob McKenzie noted in a tweet on the subject. Or maybe he is simply “worn out” and needs the time off.

Whatever happens, the Bruins still have Tuukka Rask. The 25-year-old Finn has been waiting to take the reins in net for a while now, and Boston could sign a free agent like Tomas Vokoun to be his backup.

So what would Thomas do on his time off? He could go to socialist Finland and be a goaltender there, as he did the last time the NHL had a stoppage in 2004-05. If he’s too “worn out” for that, he could go to work for former Red Sox pitcher and noted right-winger Curt Schilling’s 38 Studios — oh, wait, everyone there was laid off last week. Well, Thomas could be a sidekick for conservative talk-show host Glenn Beck, or maybe he could start his own line of mustache wax and personal grooming products. Ultimately it would be his decision, being a free individual and all.

UPDATE: Now we know why Thomas wants to take the year off; he needs to recover from the bout of insanity he’s now enduring.