Tim Thomas' refusal to take part in the Boston Bruins trip to the White House on Tuesday to celebrate the team's 2011 Stanley Cup title has caused a lot of unneeded distractions for the team, but this sort of me-first attitude is nothing new to his teammates.

It could lead to his departure from the team sooner rather than later.

According to the Boston Globe:

Two team sources think Thomas’s decision won’t have a negative effect inside the dressing room because it reflects no deviation from his character. Separately, the sources both said Thomas’s actions merely revealed what his teammates have known since 2006-07, his first full season with the Bruins: that he is a solitary, me-against-the-world figure who often puts himself in front of the team.

In Thomas’s statement, he did not mention the Bruins nor his teammates. He concluded it by saying it was a choice he had to make as an individual.

The Globe also reported one team source describing Thomas' decision on the White House visit as “[Expletive] selfish [expletive]."

Consider this.

What should the Bruins do with Thomas' future?

Submit Vote vote to see results

Thomas is 37 years old and has been playing a lot of games over the past few seasons thanks to three consecutive playoff runs past the first round. He makes $5 million per season on a contract that ends after next year.

Backup goalie Tuukka Rask has arguably played better than Thomas this season, and is a restricted free agent in the summer. Rask currently has a salary cap hit of $1.25 million, and is expected to get a huge raise with his new contract.

Rask clearly has the making of No. 1 goalie that can be a Vezina Trophy candidate for a long time.

Rask could easily make $3 million or more per season in his new deal, and if that happens, the Bruins would be paying almost $10 million just for the goalie position. With the current salary cap figure at about $64 million, the team would have a big chunk of its cap taken up by two goalies.

This is financially unwise and makes little sense for any team. With the possibility that the cap could go down from its current figure in the new CBA for the next season, paying a lot of money for goalies would not give the Bruins cap flexibility.

The best option going forward is to start Rask between the pipes next season and trade Thomas in the summer.

Trading Thomas sounds ludicrous after his historic season last year, and considering how well he's playing right now. However, there are many NHL teams who need to improve their goaltending, even if the upgrade is 38 years old.

Thomas shows no signs of slowing down, so the Bruins could get a great return package for Thomas, which could include proven NHL talent, top prospects, high draft picks or a combination of the three.

137566292_crop_340x234 Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

A team acquiring Thomas would not be risking much, considering next season he will be an upcoming free agent, giving him more trade value at the deadline.

The Bruins have gotten great value from Thomas, and his contributions to the team's recent success should not be diminished by his decision not to go to the White House.

However, the distractions caused by the situation, in addition to the fact he has one more year left after this season on his current contract, make his departure from the Bruins seem likely to happen sooner rather than later.

 

Follow Nicholas Goss on Twitter for NHL/Bruins news and analysis. Follow @NicholasGoss35.

Nicholas Goss is a Boston Bruins Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and was the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Boston.