Conn Smythe Winner Tim Thomas

Added on Jun 17, 2011 by J Merrill in

NHL

Tim Thomas was very happy to raise the Stanley Cup, there is no questioning that, but to get the Conn Smythe was very special to him as well. The 37 year old put up two shut outs against Vancouver, held the Canucks to 8 points with a save percentage of .967, and dominated the Canucks in game 7. Thomas said “It’s quite an honor. I mean, the Stanley Cup is the biggest one, that’s the one you’re shooting for. But Conn Smythe is completely an honor.”

The Flint Michigan native has played hockey all over the world. He has played for 9 teams on 3 continents, and gradually rose his game to get back in the NHL. Even with the peaks and valleys of his career with Boston, Thomas said he always focused on task in front of him. Thomas said “I didn’t want to think about the NHL, because it seemed like it was so far away. But having said that, I was happy playing where I was playing. I was playing in a very good league, and I had a lot of good friends over there. I’m very happy that I made the decision to come back. It was a tough decision at the time, but it paid off in the long run.”

Thomas was overwhelmed with everything that was going, and he admitted it will take a few days for it to really sink him. He said it almost felt like the season wasn’t even over, “It still hasn’t kicked in, if I’m completely honest, I can’t believe it’s over. We’ve had our battle meter up so high for so long; it feels like we’re moving onto the next series or something.” He said the names on the trophy were giving him chills, “I just sat down here and started to read some of the names on it, and it’s an honor to be mentioned in the same maple leaf. Patrick (Roy), Ron Hextall, Ken Dryden, those are the three goalies that I can see on this side facing me. It’s amazing.”

Boston coach Claude Julien said his playoff performance was a masterpiece, and it very easily compared to the other amazing goalies he had coached in the past. Julien said “I’ve had some good ones, Marty Brodeur and others, but Tim Thomas, in these playoffs, just totally dominated. That’s the sign of a great goaltender. He was in the zone, he was focused, never let anything rattle him. What’s happened to him now, so deserving.”

Thomas stopped an incredible 238 of the Canucks’ 246 shots in the finals for a .967 save percentage. That’s even better than his .940 mark and 1.98 goals-against average for the entire postseason. He is also expected to win his second Vezina Trophy next week after setting a modern record with a .938 save percentage in the regular season, eclipsing Dominik Hasek’s mark. To this day, he is only the second America to win the Conn Smythe. New York Rangers defenseman Brian Leetch earned it in 1994, and as fate would have it, he earned by beating the Canucks in Game 7.