Thomas/By S. Bradley

LOWELL, Mass. – Don’t freak out because Tim Thomas didn’t participate in Milan Lucic’s Rock and Jock Softball game Friday night at LeLacheur Park, the home of the Lowell Spinners.

Thomas is feeling well some 11 weeks removed from hip surgery, but didn’t want to take a chance in competing even in a lighthearted event before his 12 weeks of recovery are completely up.

“Just being super cautious,” the Bruins veteran goaltender explained while taking a break from signing autographs during the game. (more…)

Thomas

Now that the odds his 2010-11 Bruins squad will feature a No. 2 goaltender making $5 million and a No. 1 taking home a little more than $1 million increased, Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli has to accept the market for a 36-year-old Tim Thomas just might not be what he thought it would be heading into the offseason.

With teams like San Jose, Atlanta and Tampa Bay addressing their goaltender needs in free agency today, there are fewer potential homes for Thomas. So Chiarelli is already wrapping his mind around a potential second season of Thomas and Tuukka Rask being together in Boston.

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Thomas might have to stay

The Bruins lived with a $5 million back-up goaltender last spring and through the playoffs. Now it looks like they might be doing that again in the 2010-11 season.

Through three hours of “Free Agent Frenzy,” teams once thought to be suitors for Boston’s No. 2 netminder have found cheaper ways to fill their crease.

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Nabokov

While various reports Saturday said that Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas has waived his no-trade clause, it looked like one goalie-hunting team was more interested in another netminder by the time Day Two of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft ended.

And no on could blame Philadelphia for being more interested in Evgeni Nabokov than Thomas.

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Thomas/By S. Bradley

Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli stressed today during his meeting with the media in Los Angeles that goaltender Tim Thomas has not been asked to be moved despite him being relegated to No. 2 status behind Tuukka Rask.

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It appears that Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli is looking for a little help in moving goaltender Tim Thomas and his $5 million per year contract (for three more years) out of Boston.

UPDATE: ESPN’s Pierre Lebrun spoke with Thomas’ agent Bill Zito today.

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Thomas & Vezina

With “Tuukka Time” firmly established as the Bruins’ time, and Tim Thomas’ $5 million-a-season contract acting as an albatross on Boston’s salary cap, it appears the Bruins are entertaining the option of trading the former Vezina Trophy-winner and finding a cheaper option to back up Tuukka Rask.

Even offseason hip surgery doesn’t seem to have scared away potential suitors, who are looking for top-notch goaltending at a somewhat reasonable price (considering Thomas’ numbers, not his age or what he might accomplish going forward). Of course, there’s also the matter of Thomas’ no-trade clause and whether the adopted New Englander would accept a deal out of town at this point.

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Thomas

Tim Thomas fell from grace so hard this season, he found himself on the bench watching Tuukka Rask lead the Bruins to the second round of the postseason and then under the knife undergoing hip surgery once the season was over.

Once a fairy tale to tell the kids, the “Tim Thomas Story” has now taken a more serious turn that might be more fitting for a weeknight drama on FX. (more…)

Thomas

BOSTON – One year ago, the Bruins had just been ousted in a disappointing seven-game series with Carolina, but goaltender Tim Thomas was still on top of the world with a trip to Las Vegas for the NHL Awards on his itinerary and a new multi-year contract signed in the spring on his ledger.

Thomas, who famously left Vegas with the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender, now stands in a very different place in his career after the Bruins’ latest season-ending seven-game second-round series. (more…)

Rask might join Thomas in Vegas this year.

While it’s not the prize the Bruins set out to win when the season started, or still have their eyes on two weeks before the playoffs will begin, the William M. Jennings Trophy is well within Boston’s grasp.

After beating New Jersey 1-0 Tuesday night behind Tuukka Rask’s 21 saves, the Bruins are tied with the Devils with at 2.37 goals allowed per game. So while the Stanley Cup is probably a fantasy this spring, a repeat for the Jennings isn’t out of the question for the boys in black and gold – and is probably Boston’s best chance at getting any hardware at the NHL Awards in June.

Considering recent developments, it’s easy to forget that the Bruins’ stellar goals-against total is the product of the league’s best goaltending tandem. And that on a list of weaknesses on the Bruins, goaltending would be dead-last and a round-up of people to blame for their lackluster season wouldn’t include Tuukka Rask or Tim Thomas anywhere but in the last two slots, even after scouts and most of the front-office-personnel. (more…)

Thomas

BOSTON — Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

Tim Thomas gets a start. Tim Thomas plays great. Tim Thomas gets a second straight start and plays so poorly he gets the hook.

A chart of Thomas’ play this season would look a lot like a drawing of the Rocky Mountains at this stage of the season, and he hit a new low against Buffalo tonight with three goals allowed on 14 shots at TD Garden. (more…)

WILMINGTON, Mass. – Despite a six-year age difference, Tim Thomas and Buffalo’s Ryan Miller share many things in common.

They’re both from Michigan, they won a silver medal with Team USA at February’s Olympics in Vancouver, they’re active in making goalies’ voices heard on league matters and they love to read science fiction novels.

However, heading in Monday night’s probable matchup between the two American puck-stoppers at TD Garden, Thomas couldn’t be coming at the game from a more different angle than Miller. (more…)

Thomas

BOSTON — Tim Thomas was ready for anything as he prepared Saturday to make his first start since March 15.

He knew there’d be shots coming his way, followed by some Calgary bodies.

“That’s what they do,” said Thomas, after he drew two goaltender interference penalties and stopped 31 shots in a 5-0 win over the Flames at TD Garden. “We actually saw that in the video before the game. That’s what they do, so you’re prepared for it. I’m just not going to change the way that I play. That’s the worst thing you can do because they’ll get goals off of it if you change the way you play. You have to put yourself in vulnerable positions sometimes and that’s what kind of happened on that one play.”

For the rest of this story, log on to ESPNBoston.com.

Thomas

How does a goaltender that allowed six goals in his third of three games in one week earn Bruins of the Week honors? When Tim Thomas’ first two games in the past seven-day period were shutouts. (more…)

Thomas

Over at FOXSports.com, Spector has ranked the top 10 goaltending performances of the decade, and he shows some love for Bruins netminder Tim Thomas. (more…)