Wayne Thomas obit

Wayne Thomas, ex-NHL goalie, assistant and executive dies at 77

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Former NHL goaltender Wayne Thomas, who went on to have a lengthy career in hockey as a coach and an executive, has died from cancer. He was 77. 

He was not on the list.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Former NHL goaltender Wayne Thomas, who went on to have a lengthy career in hockey as a coach and an executive, has died from cancer. He was 77.

A spokesperson for the San Jose Sharks confirmed the team learned of Thomas’ death Wednesday from his family.

The spokesperson said Thomas died at his home in Falmouth, Massachusetts.

An Ottawa native, Thomas tended goal for Montreal, Toronto and the New York Rangers from 1973-80.

He immediately went into coaching and spent time as an assistant with New York, Chicago, St. Louis and San Jose, with stints running the bench in the International Hockey League for teams in Salt Lake City and Peoria.

Thomas spent nearly two decades in the Sharks’ front office from the mid-1990s through 2015, a vast majority of the time in which he served as assistant general manager and vice president of hockey operations and oversaw their American Hockey League club.

He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, and New York Rangers between 1972 and 1981. He also held several positions in coaching and management in the NHL and the minor leagues, including 22 years in management with the San Jose Sharks.

homas played junior hockey from 1963 to 1967 with the Ottawa Capitals of the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL), and was the league's top goaltender in 1965–66. Thomas then played three years of varsity hockey at the University of Wisconsin under coach Bob Johnson. Thomas recorded a shutout in his first game with Wisconsin in 1968, an 11–0 victory against Pennsylvania. He was second-team All-WCHA for the 1969-70 season and was with the team in its first appearance in the Frozen Four tournament in Lake Placid, New York in 1970. That same season he was named the team's MVP. Thomas ranks in the top 10 all-time for Wisconsin goaltenders in save percentage (.909 – 9th all-time) and goals against average (2.84 – 10th all-time) as of the 2022-23 season.

Thomas's National Hockey League rights were originally held by the Toronto Maple Leafs, who traded him to the Los Angeles Kings in 1968, and who in turn traded him to the Montreal Canadiens in 1970. Thomas played two seasons with the Montreal and Nova Scotia Voyageurs, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens. With the Voyageurs he won the Calder Cup, the AHL championship trophy, in 1972.

The following season, 1972-73, Thomas became the tenth goalie to record a shutout in his NHL debut, with a 3–0 Canadiens victory against the Vancouver Canucks. He won his first seven consecutive home starts, and overall recorded an 8–1 regular season record, but did not make an appearance in the team's Stanley Cup playoff run; Thomas was the number 3 goalie behind Ken Dryden and Michel Plasse. In 1973–74, with Dryden sitting out the season to complete his bar exam, he shared duties with Plasse and Michel Larocque, playing 42 games and sporting a 2.76 goals against average, but again was not used in the playoffs. On March 10, 1974, Thomas set a Canadiens record with 53 saves in a 5–4 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins; the record has since been tied by Carey Price. Thomas's goals against was the fourth-best average in the NHL, and was Montreal's winner of that year's Molson Cup. He then spent the entire 1974–75 season as Montreal's number 3 goalie, but did not see action in a single game as Dryden returned with Larocque as his backup. Thomas was frustrated, but appeased when Montreal general manager Sam Pollock advised him that the team intended to not utilize him but would trade him to a "good situation" in the off season.

After three seasons in Montreal he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in June 1975 for a first-round draft pick. He played in the 1976 All Star game and recorded the win. After two years in Toronto, he became expendable upon the emergence of Mike Palmateer, and the New York Rangers acquired him in the 1977 NHL Waiver Draft, to use him as the backup to John Davidson. When Davidson got injured, Thomas took over as the starter, playing in 41 games that season. Thomas played four seasons with the Rangers and retired in 1981. He finished his eight-year NHL career with a 103-93-34 record, 3.34 GAA and .891 SV% while recording 10 shutouts.

After retiring as a player, he was hired by the New York Rangers as a goaltending coach, one of the first in professional hockey. By January 1981, Thomas was third on the Rangers' goalie depth chart behind John Davidson and Doug Soetaert, and was seen by coach and general manager Craig Patrick to be more useful to the team as a coach; Thomas was announced to be coaching the team's goalies on January 28. He remained in that position until the end of the 1984–85 season.

In 1985 Thomas became the head coach of the Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the International Hockey League (IHL), a Rangers affiliate. In his second year in Salt Lake City, the Golden Eagles won the Turner Cup and Thomas was awarded the Commissioner's Trophy as the IHL's Coach of the Year.

In 1986, he returned to the NHL as assistant coach of the Chicago Blackhawks, a hiring based in part on his work with goalies such as Mike Vernon with the Golden Eagles, and Glen Hanlon and John Vanbiesbrouck with the Rangers. Under head coach Bob Murdoch, Thomas focused on Chicago's goalies and was involved in the development of Jimmy Waite and Ed Belfour. During the 1989–90 season, Thomas served as head coach of the St. Louis Blues' IHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen. In January 1990, the Blues temporarily brought him to St. Louis as a de facto goaltender coach to consult on the development of Blues prospects Vincent Riendeau and Curtis Joseph. That summer Thomas was officially named a Blues assistant coach, with specialty in goaltending, and was specifically hired by head coach Brian Sutter for his experience. Thomas stayed on as an assistant coach in 1992 when St. Louis replaced Sutter with Bob Plager.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season                        Playoffs

Season Team   League GP       W        L          T          MIN    GA      SO       GAA   SV%    GP       W        L            MIN    GA      SO       GAA   SV%

1964–65          Ottawa Capitals           CCHL —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —            —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —

1965–66          Ottawa Capitals           CJHL  —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —            —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —

1966–67          Ottawa Capitals           CJHL  —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —            —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —

1966–67          Morrisburg Combines Al-Cup            —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —            —        3          0          2          127      13        0          6.14     —

1967–68          University of Wisconsin          NCAA —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —            —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —

1968–69          University of Wisconsin          WCHA            16        9          6          1          943      44        2            2.80     .901     —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —

1969–70          University of Wisconsin          WCHA            21        14        7          0          1250    60        1            2.88     —        4          3          1          240      10        0          2.50     —

1970–71          Montreal Voyageurs    AHL    33        8          17        6          1845    111       1          3.57     —            3          0          3          179      12        0          4.02     —

1971–72          Nova Scotia Voyageurs           AHL    41        22        8          10        2393    100      1          2.51            —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —

1972–73          Montreal Canadiens    NHL    10        8          1          0          583      23        1          2.37     .911            —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —

1972–73          Nova Scotia Voyageurs           AHL    6          —        —        —        300      8          1          1.60            —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —

1973–74          Montreal Canadiens    NHL    42        23        12        5          2410    111       1          2.76     .905            —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —

1975–76          Toronto Maple Leafs   NHL    64        28        24        12        3684    196      2          3.19     .900            10        5          5          587      34        1          3.48     .906

1976–77          Toronto Maple Leafs   NHL    33        10        13        6          1799    116      1          3.87     .890            4          1          2          201      12        0          3.58     .886

1977–78          New York Rangers      NHL    41        12        20        7          2349    141      4          3.60     .883            1          0          1          60        4          0          4.00     .852

1978–79          New York Rangers      NHL    31        15        10        3          1666    101      1          3.64     .866            —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —

1979–80          New York Rangers      NHL    12        4          7          0          664      44        0          3.98     .873            —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —

1979–80          New Haven Nighthawks         AHL    5          5          0          0          280      11        0          2.36            .927     —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —

1980–81          New York Rangers      NHL    10        3          6          1          597      34        0          3.42     .868            —        —        —        —        —        —        —        —

NHL totals       243      103      93        34        13,743 766      10        3.34     .891     15        6          8          848            50        1          3.54     .898