For Thomas, Dream Is Still Alive

Bringing Tim Thomas in by the Boston Bruins was both a precautionary move in case Andrew Raycroft held out longer that he did and if the highly-touted Hannu Toivonen struggled in the preseason. Anyone— all the way from the team's scouting department up to the coaching and then management team — will tell you off the record that they expect big things from Toivonen. But on the record, they dance around making bold predictions for the guy they hope is the second coming of Raycroft.

"We have high hopes for Toivonen," General Manager Mike O'Connell said. "But he will have to earn his stripes just like anyone else and prove that he belongs."

In order for Toivonen to do that, he will have to outperform a goalie who's been trying to prove he belongs for twelve seasons. Thomas is just one of those guys you have to cheer for. When you talk to him, he's a average guy, who instead of giving up on his dream of being an NHL regular after years in the minors and overseas, continues to chase that dream and is willing to travel wherever and whenever to achieve it.

"One last chance" is how Thomas deemed this latest stint with the Bruins organization and the reason he decided to move his family back from Finland after just moving them to Helsinki two weeks ago. He also left a job where he could play for more money. But that's obviously not what this dream is about.

"I'm lucky to have a wife like I do that supports me and my dreams," he said. "Plus, I don't think she was too excited about living over there."

Since starring at the University of Vermont from 1993-1997, Thomas has played for 10 different pro teams in five different leagues. From 2002-2004 he shared the goaltending duties with both Raycroft and Toivonen and tasted life in the NHL for four games in 2003 going 3-1 before being sent back to Providence. With a 131-86-38 record and 2.31 G.A.A. in his twelve-year career, the Flint, Michigan native originally drafted by the Quebec Nordiques has proven he can win games.

"I've seen this kid carry teams on his back plenty of times," one former NHL scout said at last week's intra-squad scrimmage. "Someone has to give him a legitimate chance, but it seems like he's always a victim of the numbers game. You had Steve Shields and John Grahame here in 2003. Two stiffs in my view and he's the odd-man out despite going 3-1?"

Bruins goaltending coach Bob Essensa likes what he's seen from Thomas and also sees value in Thomas' knowledge of the game and goaltending.

"Tim is not like Razor or Hannu in that they stay back but he comes out and challenges you," Essensa pointed out. "But unlike a lot of goalies who try to challenge the shooter and come out to the top of the crease, he actually cuts those angles down. He's a smart goalie and that's because he's a student of the game. He knows the game well."

Many Bruins insiders actually credit Thomas for tutoring both Raycroft and Toivonen when he split time with them on the P-Bruins. One of those insiders is Toivonen himself.

"Timmy taught me a lot when I played with him," Toivonen said. "He's a good goalie and knows the game well."

During the lockout, Thomas returned to Finland to play for Jokerit. He dominated the Finnish League last season going 34-7-13 with a 1.58 G.A.A. and was named the league MVP. He was welcomed back with a pay raise this season and with open arms from the organization and the fans.

"They treated me great and I felt bad leaving but they understand," Thomas said of his former employers. "Any one of them would do the same thing for a shot in the NHL."

Thomas has traveled the back-roads of North America and the frozen highways of Finland by bus. He has built up his frequent mileage flying back and forth across the Atlantic so there was no pondering when O'Connell came calling again just over a week ago.

"No matter how many times you think your dream is over, you can't turn down another chance if it comes up," Thomas said. "My dream is to be a regular at the NHL level. I was MVP in the Finnish League last year but hey this is the NHL. This is what I've worked for."

So after 303 games in five different leagues and three different countries, this journeyman hasn't given up and as he put it, "The dream lives on."

James Murphy can be reached at feedback@bostonsportsreview.com.