Tim Thomas was born April 15, 1974 in Davison Michigan. The ninth round, 217th overall selection of the Quebec Nordiques in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, Thomas is a graduate of the ECAC's University of Vermont Catamounts.
The Davison, Michigan native spent four seasons at UVM before making his professional debut in 1997-98 splitting the season with the ECHL's Birmingham Bulls, the IHL's Houston Aeros and HIFK Helsinki of the Finnish Elite League.
1998-99 saw Thomas rejoin HIFK and split the season with the AHL s Hamilton Bulldogs before landing with the IHL's Detroit Vipers the following year. Thomas went on to spend the next two seasons overseas in Sweden and Finland before signing as a free agent with the Boston Bruins in the summer of 2001.
Thomas remained overseas in 2001-02 before returning to North America in the fall of 2002 as a member of the AHL's Providence Bruins. In his first season with the Bruins organization Thomas played in 35 games with the baby Bruins posting a 18-12-5 record with a 2.87 GAA, while suiting up for four games with the parent club in Boston.
On July 1, 2007, the Bruins acquired goaltender Manny Fernandez from the Minnesota Wild, and many hockey analysts presumed that Thomas would support Fernandez as a backup goaltender for the 2007-08 season. However, as Fernandez went down to injury early in the season, Thomas seized the opportunity and emerged as the Bruins' starting goalie. He was selected to his first NHL All-Star Game where he replaced Martin Brodeur in the third period, stopping 14 of 18 shots. Thomas was attributed the win, as the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference 8-7.
In 2009 Thomas continued his climb towards being considered one of the games premier net minders. He posted a .933 save percentage and a 2.10 goals against average, both of which led the league and earned him his first Vezina Trophy as the NHL's best goaltender. Thomas would also win the Jennings Trophy, an award he would share with his teammates Manny Fernandez.
On the international stage, Thomas was part of the US Olympic team that brought home the silver medal in a thrilling overtime final at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
If the 2009-10 was a disappointment for Thomas, the following season would be anything but. After losing his started job to Tuukka Rask a year before, Thomas re-emerged as the Bruins starter, backstopping the club to 103 regular season points, good for third place in the Eastern Conference. His .938 saver percentage and 2.00 goals-against-average were both best in the NHL and for his efforts he was awarded the Vezina Trophy as the league's top netminder.
The 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs were a memorable one for Thomas. After years of struggling and honing his craft, all of the hard work would finally pay off in a big way when he and his Bruins teammates accomplished hockey's ultimate goal; winning the Stanley Cup.
After surviving a first round scare from the Montreal Canadiens, the Bruins steamrolled over the Philadelphia Flyers and endured a seven game battle with the Tampa Bay Lightning en route to the Stanley Cup Final where they would take on the powerful Vancouver Canucks. The Bruins would defeat the Canucks in a classic seven games series, with Thomas as the undisputed star. For that reason, Thomas was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' most valuable player.
