No Gas in the Tank? The Decline of Tim Thomas

What are you thinking?!

All goaltenders are a little crazy.  You’ve got to have a screw loose somewhere if you’re willing to have frozen vulcanized rubber launched at you at 100+ mph.  This whole Tim Thomas thing really drives that home. 

“Crazy?” you ask.

Yes. Crazy. 

It would be a little better if the 38-year-old Tim Thomas had announced via press conference or through the Bruins organization that he was taking the year off or retiring.  But no, we got a cryptic Facebook post preaching about family, friends and faith.  He has stated that he would like to take the year off, but nothing is certain.  Bruins and NHL fans alike are still utterly confused as to what the Tank will be doing next season.  Even Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli has no idea what he’ll be doing next season.  In a recent interview with CSNNE.com Chiarelli said, “Nothing is definitive, I guess… I’m just operating under the assumption he’s not coming back.”

Politics and hockey don't mix.

Wait… what?

The Boston Bruins organization still does not know with 100% confidence what Tim Thomas will be doing this season.  Is he retiring?  Is he taking a year off?  Is he coming back?  This is a guy who had the most saves in a Stanley Cup finals series (238), the most saves in a playoff run (798) and a two-time Vezina trophy winner.  Not to mention, this guy won the Conn Smythe in 2011 when the Bruins won the Stanley Cup, establishing himself as the Bruins most valuable player. 

This guy went from King to Jester in the Boston sports kingdom is just under a year.  The four-time all-star first came under scrutiny this past year when he refused to traditionally visit the White House with the Bruins organization for personal reasons.  And while I can understand standing up for your opinions and beliefs, it is absolutely unacceptable that he refused to attend a team function of that kind of magnitude. 

I used to be like this. No joke.

It’s about being a team, Timmy!  We don’t care if you’d rather have a beer with Glenn Beck, just don’t talk about it!  We don’t care if you disagree with President Barack Obama’s constitutional interpretations, just play the damn game!  Don’t use your stardom to make the target on your back any bigger than it has to be!  It makes me so upset because I used to idolize this guy.  I met him at my school, (the University of Vermont) when he visited last year with the Stanley Cup.  I fan-boyed out on his wife and daughters and nearly fainted when I shook his hand.  But now I’ve lost a tremendous amount of respect for the guy.  You can’t just quit when you still have one year on your contract.  You can’t just stop being a teammate. That's crazy.

To be honest, I’d rather just see him retire at this point.  If he’s really that tired and there’s no more gas in the tank, why would you put it off for another year? What’s he going to do when he comes back from his year hiatus?  Play backup for Tuukka Rask at age 40?  It’s Tuukka time, ladies and gentlemen.  The legend of Tim Thomas is over.