Boston Bruins: 5 Most Controversial Goalie-Related Stories in Team History

Whether it is Tim Thomas who is at fault for not securing his Facebook wall or the Boston Bruins’ press corps for taking notice of a non-hockey development, the goalie's latest political statement has re-stroked the fire that burned two weeks ago.

Forget any debate pertaining to that other goalie whose jersey bears the No. 1 and the name “Amendment” on the back. The repeated distractions thus created are fueling the heated speculation that Thomas’ days as a Bruin may suddenly be numbered.

But as others are apt to underline, the only difference between 2012 and Thomas’ previous six calendar years in Boston is that his separation from the team is seeing action in the spotlight. In addition, he is a goalie, a position of stereotypical eccentricities that often carry an element of truth.

The proud American activist is hardly the first testament to that fact in the history of America’s oldest NHL franchise. Here now is a chronological retrospective on the Bruins’ top all-time goaltending controversies, some with smoother endings than others

Tiny Thompson

Thompson had seen action in all but five of the Bruins' games for 10 years running, beginning in 1928-29, when he backstopped Boston's first-ever Stanley Cup championship. But the partnership came to an abrupt end five games into the 1938-39 campaign when he was dealt to Detroit to make room for Frank Brimsek.

At the time of the transaction, incensed Boston rooters and pundits likened it to Harry Frazee's sale of Babe Ruth to the Yankees.

Luckily for general manager Art Ross, Brimsek promptly proceeded to bolster the Bruins to another Cup in 1939 and again in 1941. As it happened, Thompson saw action in only one competitive game in 1940-41, with the AHL's Buffalo Bisons, before hanging up his pads.

But few, if any, saw the benefit in turning the page from Thompson to Brimsek at the time.

Gerry Cheevers

In the afterglow of a 3-0 shutout to clinch his second Stanley Cup in three seasons, Cheevers was among the many to abruptly follow Bruins' teammate Derek Sanderson to the newfangled World Hockey Association.

After four seasons with the Cleveland Crusaders, Cheevers returned to Boston for a second stint, but fans were doubtlessly tormented by "what might have been" thoughts over the interim. After all, when their playoff starter bolted in the wake of two titles, the Bruins failed to attain another title.

Jim Craig

None other than Cheevers was behind the Bruins' bench when the organization imported the North Easton native, Boston University alum and Miracle on Ice nucleus for the 1980-81 season.

A dream partnership on paper, Craig's professional gig in Boston was anything but glamorous from beginning to abrupt end. He logged a 9-7-6 record and 3.68 goals-against average over 23 appearances in the crease and between a few public appearances too many.

His performance patently hobbled by an inability to go back down to Earth, Craig estranged the front office when he refused to go down to the AHL. He would not see game action until the following season, when he briefly toiled with Boston's farm club in Erie, Pa.

Byron Dafoe

Dafoe's 1997 arrival in Boston ushered in an exponential escalation of optimism. Over his first two seasons as the consensus starter, he first brought the Bruins out of the NHL cellar and back into the playoff picture, then delivered them to the second round.

But within months of backstopping the Bruins' first playoff series victory in five years, Dafoe held himself out of the first 14 games of the 1999-00 season due to a contract dispute. That left his team to lean awkwardly on rookie John Grahame and career backup Rob Tallas, which clearly played a role in Boston's retched 0-5-4 start.

Once Dafoe returned to action, though, he played 41 games before a season-ending injury and then retained the starting job for two more seasons.

Tim Thomas

By now, you are probably noticing the trend. Thomas’ most controversial moments are flowing in the wake of the most successful points in his career.

Many are apt to speculate that the blue-collar backstop has opted to pounce on his elevated status―owed to last year’s Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe and Vezina Trophy―to raise the volume on his say on issues beyond the barn.

But his championship White House no-show and concomitant anti-government Facebook post, followed by another politically charged status update two weeks later, have triggered a media earthquake and aftershock. And Bruins management, among others, implicitly fear that Thomas is pulling a Curt Schilling and estranging half of his fanbase so soon after he treated them to liberation from a championship drought.

If Thomas does not retire a Bruin, it should logically be because the front office is comfortable handing the starting job to Tuukka Rask, who is 13 years his junior. Unfortunately, though, the recent social sidebar might make it easier for Thomas and his supporters to play the political card in the event of a trade or waiver.