This is the same Tim Thomas who set an NHL record with a .938 save percentage and led the league with a 2.00 goals-against average in the regular season, only to better both marks with a 1.98 GAA and a .940 save percentage in the playoffs.
"Definitely, there's no question," Thomas said Monday night after the State of the Bruins town-hall style meeting with season-ticket holders at the Garden. "Last year at the beginning of camp I was still limited in what I was supposed to do at practice. And there was still a little bit of hip pain. It was definitely better than it had been before, but it was still there. This year I don't have to deal with that at all, so I definitely feel better than I did a year ago."
Last year Thomas was coming off hip surgery for an injury that helped explain his fall from winning his first Vezina Trophy in 2008-09 to being relegated to backup duty behind Tuukka Rask in 2009-10. The procedure was a resounding success, with Thomas elevating his game to new heights en route to winning his second Vezina and the Conn Smythe this past year, but coming into the season the Bruins netminder had plenty of doubts whether the hip would ever be healthy enough to return to his pre-injury form.
"The [lack of] confidence was related to, 'I don't know if I can do this physically,'" Thomas said. "It was on that end. It wasn't about confidence whether you could do it or not. Ultimately it was, but it was a physically-related confidence, rather than a mentally related confidence problem, which I think is much worse."
Thomas found his hip could be trusted again quickly, and early in the season reestablished himself as one of the top goalies in the league.
This year, Thomas had no physical issues to deal with over the summer despite a heavy workload that included playing all 25 of Boston's playoff games.
"Actually I feel good," Thomas said. "I didn't have any injuries I had to deal with, which is kind of amazing considering the amount of games we had. So physically, it's not even an issue. I haven't even had to think about it, which is nice."
Instead of needing a rest after the long season, Thomas found himself invigorated by the ability to physically prepare for the season without the constraints of rehabbing from surgery like the previous summer.
"Actually I was able to do more than the summer before because the summer before I was having physical therapy on the hip," Thomas said. "I should be in more well-rounded good shape this year than I was last year.
"I was able to train my full body, instead of just the hip and core area, which is what I did mostly the summer before," Thomas added.
This summer had its own challenges, with a short offseason filled with public appearances and the other obligations that come along with winning a championship, not to mention a pair of celebrations as Thomas got two separate days with the Cup. He brought it first to hometown of Flint, Mich., then later took it to Vermont, where he played his college hockey. It was enough to make Thomas welcome a return to the grind of the NHL season.
"In a certain way the season is a relief because you're back to a routine that you're used to," Thomas said.
The summer may have been short and busy, but Thomas did find enough time to set his sights on a new goal for the upcoming season, one with a familiar feel to it.
"I think it's important to have goals, and that's something that's served me well over the course of my career," Thomas said. "Obviously, we set the goal for the Stanley Cup and were able to achieve it. To have a season like this, where me personally I won a Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe and the Vezina, basically the conclusion that I came to this summer is that I have no choice but to shoot for it again."
