By: Dan Jaillet
I kind of saw this happening. It
was just too perfect a scenario. A 38-year old goaltender not only playing, but
also starting for an organization as prestigious as the Boston Bruins. Then, he
did something even more magical. He carried the Bruins on his back, and some
could argue, singlehandedly won the Stanley Cup for them. He was treated like
royalty by Boston fans and was heavily praised
by the Boston
media. To put it blatantly, the 2011 season was the highest point of his
career.
In January, Thomas began to be a sort of
distraction, when he skipped the Bruin’s visit to the White House celebrating
their championship win. At the time, I saw no problem with his decision, but
looking back on it now I was dead wrong.
No matter what your political
views are, you should be there with your teammates. .This created a media stir, which in turn
created a minor distraction for the team. As if that was not enough, he
released bold statements on his Facebook page, further creating more media
inquiries regarding his absence at the White House, and many people began to
see Thomas as an outspoken, arrogant person.
It wasn’t as if the White House
incident went away overnight either. It followed him to Washington during the Conference
Quarterfinals against the Washington Capitals as that was a hot-button topic
for many journalists since he was in the area. I would call it his first
“strike” this year. As if that was not enough, a report came out Wednesday
night that ultimately will affect this future with the Bruins.
On Wednesday night, a report came
out that Thomas would sit out the 2012-13 season. Today, that report was
confirmed. The report, written by USA Today cited that he wanted to “spend more
time with his family”. I doubt that if
he won the Stanley Cup again this year that he would take the following year
off. As expected, his announcement created a buzz. As a Bruins fan myself, it feels like he has
given up on the team and is focusing solely on himself, just like with his
White House announcement. To me, this is showing the selfish side of Tim Thomas
because he knows his time is up, and is bolting out the door very quickly when
things are not going his way.
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