tarheelhockey
Offside Review Specialist
*DISCLAIMER* I realize this year's Vezina race is a speculative topic, just give it the benefit of the doubt. *thanks*
There was a thread on this a while back, I think on the main board, but at the time it seemed Tim Thomas was in "fluke" mode and wouldn't be able to sustain his pace. Now we're far enough along (33GP) that it no longer seems like a statistical anomaly... barring a pretty severe breakdown in the second half, he should coast to the Vezina this year.
So assuming he wins Vezina #2 this season, where does he stand for HoF consideration? He's such a weird case because he's probably going to decline and retire within the next 3-5 seasons, and even 200 wins would be a bit of a stretch. That's Guy Hebert territory, as far as accumulation is concerned.
But even though he doesn't have the cumulative totals, he has this window of 4 years where he's been absolutely unreal. That peak window might end up at 5 or 6 years by the time he retires... to benchmark it, Ken Dryden played 7 full seasons.
Thomas also has an unusual international slant to his resume, having won the MVP and best-goalie awards in SM-liiga prior to coming back to North America (the first North American to win those awards BTW).
I don't even know where to begin comparing him to guys like Moog, Richter, or other bubble goalies. Would love to hear the thoughts on this board.
There was a thread on this a while back, I think on the main board, but at the time it seemed Tim Thomas was in "fluke" mode and wouldn't be able to sustain his pace. Now we're far enough along (33GP) that it no longer seems like a statistical anomaly... barring a pretty severe breakdown in the second half, he should coast to the Vezina this year.
So assuming he wins Vezina #2 this season, where does he stand for HoF consideration? He's such a weird case because he's probably going to decline and retire within the next 3-5 seasons, and even 200 wins would be a bit of a stretch. That's Guy Hebert territory, as far as accumulation is concerned.
But even though he doesn't have the cumulative totals, he has this window of 4 years where he's been absolutely unreal. That peak window might end up at 5 or 6 years by the time he retires... to benchmark it, Ken Dryden played 7 full seasons.
Thomas also has an unusual international slant to his resume, having won the MVP and best-goalie awards in SM-liiga prior to coming back to North America (the first North American to win those awards BTW).
I don't even know where to begin comparing him to guys like Moog, Richter, or other bubble goalies. Would love to hear the thoughts on this board.