Tim thomas

[edthesandwich]

I would take every one of those guys before Thomas.
It's funny, John Tavares is 21, was drafted in 09, is starting only his third NHL season and everyone is crapping all over him because he hasn't single-handedly turned the Islanders into a contender yet.
Thomas, on the other hand, is 37, was drafted in 94 and is starting his 6th season as a regular goalie in the league with a very good team. He's had 1 amazing season and 1 good season, other than that he's done very little, yet there are people convinced he's destined for the hall.

This sums it up marvelously.

Folks, you have to be an absolutely sensational goaltender to make the Hall. Jobs in net are limited to 30 per year -- and the positional representation in the Hall should always reflect that.

Thomas toiled in obscurity for 11 years (!) after he was drafted, split the first season after the lockout between Boston and Providence and was not good at all in his first year as starter.

He improved a lot over the next two years, then won just 17 of 43 games in 2009-10 and actually lost his starting job to Tuukka Rask. He got it back early last year and rolled to the Vezina, but that's really the only shiny thing on his resume.

There have been only four goaltenders inducted into the Hall since 1990:

- Billy Smith (305 wins, four Stanley Cups, one Vezina, one Jennings, one Conn Smythe)

- Grant Fuhr (403 wins, four Stanley Cups, one Vezina)

- Patrick Roy (551 wins, three Stanley Cups, three Vezinas, three Conn Smythes)

- Ed Belfour (484 wins, one Stanley Cup, two Vezinas, four Jennings)

We know Hasek's getting in, as is Brodeur. The goalie standard is wicked high for the Hall. And that's how it should be, frankly.

There is nothing that Tim Thomas can do -- short of playing at an elite level until he's 42 or beyond, or the Bruins winning at least two more Cups with him in net -- to justify being selected ahead of the goaltenders mentioned previously. If he keeps it up for another five years, then great. But even the Bruins know his time is running out, which is why they're adamant about keeping Rask.

Feel free to debate the point as you wish, but there's no way he's getting in based on his present credentials. Nor does he deserve to.

[OBOMBA]

This sums it up marvelously.

Folks, you have to be an absolutely sensational goaltender to make the Hall. Jobs in net are limited to 30 per year -- and the positional representation in the Hall should always reflect that.

Thomas toiled in obscurity for 11 years (!) after he was drafted, split the first season after the lockout between Boston and Providence and was not good at all in his first year as starter.

He improved a lot over the next two years, then won just 17 of 43 games in 2009-10 and actually lost his starting job to Tuukka Rask. He got it back early last year and rolled to the Vezina, but that's really the only shiny thing on his resume.

There have been only four goaltenders inducted into the Hall since 1990:

- Billy Smith (305 wins, four Stanley Cups, one Vezina, one Jennings, one Conn Smythe)

- Grant Fuhr (403 wins, four Stanley Cups, one Vezina)

- Patrick Roy (551 wins, three Stanley Cups, three Vezinas, three Conn Smythes)

- Ed Belfour (484 wins, one Stanley Cup, two Vezinas, four Jennings)

We know Hasek's getting in, as is Brodeur. The goalie standard is wicked high for the Hall. And that's how it should be, frankly.

There is nothing that Tim Thomas can do -- short of playing at an elite level until he's 42 or beyond, or the Bruins winning at least two more Cups with him in net -- to justify being selected ahead of the goaltenders mentioned previously. If he keeps it up for another five years, then great. But even the Bruins know his time is running out, which is why they're adamant about keeping Rask.

Feel free to debate the point as you wish, but there's no way he's getting in based on his present credentials. Nor does he deserve to.

tim thomas was injured in 09 10 thats the only reason he didnt win the vezina, people dont know that for some reason.

[Wickabee]

tim thomas was injured in 09 10 thats the only reason he didnt win the vezina, people dont know that for some reason.

That's a pretty bold statement there. You know for fact that he absolutely would have won the Vezina hands down?
That's amazing!

[OBOMBA]

That's a pretty bold statement there. You know for fact that he absolutely would have won the Vezina hands down?
That's amazing!

give me a quarter ill tell you your fortune

[bojohnson]

This sums it up marvelously.

Folks, you have to be an absolutely sensational goaltender to make the Hall. Jobs in net are limited to 30 per year -- and the positional representation in the Hall should always reflect that.

Thomas toiled in obscurity for 11 years (!) after he was drafted, split the first season after the lockout between Boston and Providence and was not good at all in his first year as starter.

He improved a lot over the next two years, then won just 17 of 43 games in 2009-10 and actually lost his starting job to Tuukka Rask. He got it back early last year and rolled to the Vezina, but that's really the only shiny thing on his resume.

There have been only four goaltenders inducted into the Hall since 1990:

- Billy Smith (305 wins, four Stanley Cups, one Vezina, one Jennings, one Conn Smythe)

- Grant Fuhr (403 wins, four Stanley Cups, one Vezina)

- Patrick Roy (551 wins, three Stanley Cups, three Vezinas, three Conn Smythes)

- Ed Belfour (484 wins, one Stanley Cup, two Vezinas, four Jennings)

We know Hasek's getting in, as is Brodeur. The goalie standard is wicked high for the Hall. And that's how it should be, frankly.

There is nothing that Tim Thomas can do -- short of playing at an elite level until he's 42 or beyond, or the Bruins winning at least two more Cups with him in net -- to justify being selected ahead of the goaltenders mentioned previously. If he keeps it up for another five years, then great. But even the Bruins know his time is running out, which is why they're adamant about keeping Rask.

Feel free to debate the point as you wish, but there's no way he's getting in based on his present credentials. Nor does he deserve to.

tim thomas is one of my favorite netminders
however this is correct, i mean look at osgood....

if thomas gets in, that would in some ways open it up to niemi, vokoun, maf, and guys like that, which wouldnt make sense.
you can be one of the best players in the game and not be a hof'er

lets reverse it, if ovechkins career was stopped now(thomas started late), i can tell you right now ovi wouldnt be in the hof.
great players dont make the hof, you can be the best and not make it.

phil kessel probably wont make it and right now he is the best player in the league.

to make the hall, you have to be AMAZINg over a VERY consistent, and PROLONGED period of time IN the nhl.

[Wickabee]

I foresee that if I did I'd only be 25 cents poorer

[MatsSundin13Rocks]

2007/08 All Star w/ 3 SO & .921 SV%/2.44 GAA, 2008/09 Vezina/Jennings/Crozier/All Star/1st team All Star w/ 5 SO/2.10 GAA/.933 SV%, 2009/10 Injured/Struggled a bit Still 5 SO/.915 SV%/2.56 GAA, 2010/11 Vezina/Cup/Conn Smythe/Crozier/All Star/1st team All Star w/ 9 SO/2.00 GAA/.938 SV%/, probably Vezina again based on current performance w/ 3 SO in 15 G/1.85 GAA/ .936 SV%.

The Hall of Fame should add a few more goalies. CuJo, Barrasso, Ritcher, Hasek (lock to make it), and Beezer are a few goalies that deserve consideration.

[OBOMBA]

tim thomas is one of my favorite netminders
however this is correct, i mean look at osgood....

if thomas gets in, that would in some ways open it up to niemi, vokoun, maf, and guys like that, which wouldnt make sense.
you can be one of the best players in the game and not be a hof'er

lets reverse it, if ovechkins career was stopped now(thomas started late), i can tell you right now ovi wouldnt be in the hof.
great players dont make the hof, you can be the best and not make it.

phil kessel probably wont make it and right now he is the best player in the league.

to make the hall, you have to be AMAZINg over a VERY consistent, and PROLONGED period of time IN the nhl.

o yeah by the time these guys careers are over they will be in the HOF

fleury, lundqvist, miller, rinne

count on it

plus i think thomas is gonna have another award filled year. wait till he gets hot, his stats are already insane.

[OBOMBA]

This sums it up marvelously.

Folks, you have to be an absolutely sensational goaltender to make the Hall. Jobs in net are limited to 30 per year -- and the positional representation in the Hall should always reflect that.

Thomas toiled in obscurity for 11 years (!) after he was drafted, split the first season after the lockout between Boston and Providence and was not good at all in his first year as starter.

He improved a lot over the next two years, then won just 17 of 43 games in 2009-10 and actually lost his starting job to Tuukka Rask. He got it back early last year and rolled to the Vezina, but that's really the only shiny thing on his resume.

There have been only four goaltenders inducted into the Hall since 1990:

- Billy Smith (305 wins, four Stanley Cups, one Vezina, one Jennings, one Conn Smythe)

- Grant Fuhr (403 wins, four Stanley Cups, one Vezina)

- Patrick Roy (551 wins, three Stanley Cups, three Vezinas, three Conn Smythes)

- Ed Belfour (484 wins, one Stanley Cup, two Vezinas, four Jennings)

We know Hasek's getting in, as is Brodeur. The goalie standard is wicked high for the Hall. And that's how it should be, frankly.

There is nothing that Tim Thomas can do -- short of playing at an elite level until he's 42 or beyond, or the Bruins winning at least two more Cups with him in net -- to justify being selected ahead of the goaltenders mentioned previously. If he keeps it up for another five years, then great. But even the Bruins know his time is running out, which is why they're adamant about keeping Rask.

Feel free to debate the point as you wish, but there's no way he's getting in based on his present credentials. Nor does he deserve to.

lets get real here 80s hockey is nothing compared to today. stacked teams were normal and just unfair. fuhr made it to the HOF because of his team he was really never that good. one more cup and a vezina or two more vezinas alone or 3 more elite seasons and thomas is locked for the hof. the NHL is just way more competitive today[thanks to the salary cap], its pretty crazy. i mean go look at team point standings from last season throughout the two conferences youll see what i mean.

[edthesandwich]

OBOMBA, you couldn't have missed the point any more than you did. Not possible.

The list wasn't designed to compare eras -- everyone with even the most remedial knowledge about NHL hockey history knows what the 80s were like. The point, as it is clearly made in my previous post, is that each decade seemed to have one - and certainly no more than two - goaltending candidates worthy of inclusion into the HHOF.

1980s: Smith
1990s: Fuhr
2000s: Roy
2010s (to date): Belfour

We're going to see Hasek and Brodeur enshrined, as they should be. But the point, once again, is that for a goaltender to make the Hall, he has to be REALLY FREAKING GOOD. And good for a long time.

Since it was difficult to assess just how good a goaltender was in those firewagon days of the late-1970s and entire 1980s, my belief is that goalies from that era were rewarded as much for what their teams did as how they performed themselves. Fair? Probably not ... but there honestly wasn't a better way to decide it. Your average netminder was letting in 3.9 goals per game. So the HHOF committee rewarded the guys who let in the fewest. Smith benefited from the Isles' dynasty just as Fuhr did for the Oilers' dominance. And I don't have a problem with that.

But now ... you're seeing goalies post eye-popping stats year after year after year. Yet, as good as the current crop of goalies is, they can't all get in. Hasek makes it, as does Brodeur ... but then who? You think Thomas is going to beat out some of the guys he might have to compete against for HHOF selection? Assuming he plays three more years, here's what he might be up against:

Jaromir Jagr
Teemu Selanne
Mats Sundin
Mark Recchi
Mike Modano
Brendan Shanahan
Nicklas Lidstrom
Chris Chelios
Pierre Turgeon
Joe Sakic
Adam Oates (there's a growing groundswell for him to get in)

Not to mention other worthy goaltenders who were very good AND managed to stay that way for far longer than Thomas ultimately will:

Curtis Joseph
Chris Osgood
Mike Vernon
Tom Barrasso

You have a handful of other goaltenders who either have 300 wins, or are on the way:

Nikolai Khabibulin
Roberto Luongo
Evgeni Nabokov
Miikka Kiprusoff
Tomas Vokoun
Jose Theodore
Ryan Miller
Henrik Lundqvist

So I absolutely stand by what I said earlier. You can feed me Thomas' stats for the past several seasons. I've seen them many times before. They're great. But they're not Hall of Fame stats. If he can fashion four or five more great seasons, then we'll talk. But as of right now? He has a lot of catching up to do. That's just how the HHOF works. Ask all the other goalies who have been spurned time and time again.