Tim Thomas agreed to a try out deal with the Florida Panthers. Let’s start by saying that no one was ever a bigger fan of Tim Thomas the goalie than I was. I watched him in Providence, I watched him come out of nowhere and steal an NHL job through nothing more than hard work, I watched him become a starter, a Vezina winner, and a Conn Smythe winning Stanley Cup champ. I rooted for him all the way. He was the best.
Off the ice he turned out to be a tea party-esque nut job, and while that was totally distracting and annoying, it never changed the fact that he was Tim “The Man” Thomas in net. I don’t care what his politics or personal life are like (although I’d draw the line at rooting for him if he turned out to be chummy with the Hitler or Stalin types, you know?), hell I don’t even care if you’re a complete asshole. If you work hard and do your best by us, the fans, then I’ll tip my hat to you and give you my sincere thanks.
But noooooooooooooo.
Timmy had to break the contract that he agreed to that would pay him a truck load of money in order to spend time with his family. What’s the truth? I would put money on Timmy not liking either his teammates, his management, or the city, but how do I know. What it comes down to is that he screwed us, the fans, last season and for that I say to hell with him. I hope he never plays another game in the NHL. It shows you how insanely desperate the Panthers are to give a deal, even if it’s just a PTO, to a 39 year old with a history of breach of contract. If he wants to go play in Finland again, then good luck to him. Don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out. I don’t ever want to see him playing in an NHL game again.
There is only one thing that Boston sports fans truly want from their professional athletes. We want them to work hard and do their best. That’s it. Really. If any fan base realizes that winning isn’t everything, it’s the fan base that stood behind a Red Sox team that went 86 years without a title. We want you to win, but if you work hard and do your best and come up short then we’re still going to hero worship the shit out of you. Thomas used to be the perfect guy for Boston, and then he screwed us over and went home for a year. To hell with him.
Inside the Red Head's Head 