Hockey World Mourns Passing of Former Maple Leafs Goaltender
Photo credit: Credit: Elgin County Archives, St. Thomas Times-Journal fonds
Tributes pour in for former Toronto Maple Leafs goalie turned NHL executive Wayne Thomas who passed away at the age of 77.
The San Jose Sharks, where Thomas bad been a longstanding Assistant General Manager and VP of Hockey Operations, announced the 77-year-old passed away following a lengthy battle with cancer.
Thomas had been with the Sharks since the 1993-94 season, being named as an assistant coach before making a move to the front office in 2001, being the team's Assistant GM until 2015 where Thomas retired.
Starting his coaching journey as a goaltending coach for the New York Rangers following the conclusion of his playing career, Thomas later became an Assistant coach with the team, before moving on to the same role with the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks.
Along with his roles in the NHL, Thomas was also General Manager of San Jose's AHL team, the Worcester Sharks. Thomas had also served the same role in the Sharks previous AHL affiliates in Kentucky and Cleveland.
Wayne Thomas As A Hockey Player
Before his longtime managerial and executive career, Wayne Thomas was an accomplished professional goalie.
A talented junior goalie in the Ottawa area, Thomas took his talent south of the border with the University of Wisconsin, a reliable backstopper in two seasons for the Badgers.
Having his rights owned by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Thomas was traded by Toronto to the Los Angeles Kings in 1968. Thomas would play for neither club as he was again traded in 1970 to the Montreal Canadiens.
Thomas would make his debut in 1972 with Montreal in a 3-0 shutout win against the Vancouver Canucks, playing a backup role to one of the league's best in Ken Dryden.
Thomas found himself suddenly in the starting role for the Canadiens as Dryden held out the year due to a contract dispute with the club.
Thomas had a 23-12-5 record in 42 games in his first year starting in net, however Montreal would pick Quebec youngster Michel Larocque as their playoff netminder, and with Dryden returning next season, Thomas did not see actions as Dryden & Larocque held down the Habs net.
At the end of the season, having not played for Montreal that year, Thomas was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs and would once again prove to be a capable starter in his first season in Toronto with a 28-24-12 record in 64 games, named an All-Star.
Unlike in Montreal, Thomas also got the start in the playoffs.
In a repeat of his situation with the Canadiens, Thomas found himself again dropped from his starting role in a flash with the emergence of youngster Mike Palmateer taking over between the pipes in Toronto's crease.
Once again looking for ice time, Thomas signed with the New York Rangers in 1977, playing four seasons with the club before his retirement from playing in 1981, quickly moving on to the Rangers bench.
In 243 career NHL games across eight seasons, Wayne Thomas had a 103-93-34 record along with a 3.34 GAA and a .891 SV%. In the playoffs, Thomas appeared in 15 games with a 6-8-0 record.
The Sharks announced a celebration of life will be held in mid-August in Minneapolis, with further details to be announced a later date, and the family has set up donations in lieu of flowers on Thomas' obituary page.
We here at Hockey Patrol would like to offer our condolences to the family and friends of Wayne Thomas.
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