NHL: 30 best goalies of all time (Updated 2023)

NHL: 30 best goalies of all time: 29. Tim Thomas

Stats:

• 92.0 save percentage
• 2.52 GAA
• 214 wins

Achievements: 

• Stanley Cup champion
• 2-time All-Star
• 2-time Vezina Award winner

Tim Thomas admitted that he wasn’t ready to play on the big stage just yet. After he was taken with the 217th pick in the 1994 NHL Draft, Thomas believed he was better off working on his game by playing in the minor leagues and Europe. He may have officially debuted several years later at the age of 28, but he immediately showed that he was worth the wait. In his first full season, less than three goals per night were permitted under the watch of Thomas.

At no point did Thomas put together a season in which his save percentage dipped beneath 90.2%. He became a fixture with the Boston Bruins for eight years before wrapping up his career in Dallas. Thomas was dominant. So much so in fact, that after having hip surgery in 2010, he turned things around by putting together the best season of his career. His 93.8 save percentage in 2011 ranks fourth all-time for a single season. At the time, Thomas was 36. He also allowed only two goals on average per night.

It came as no surprise that his dominant run led the Bruins to a Stanley Cup win that year. Thomas would pull the curtains down on his career just three years later in 2014. So while he doesn’t have longevity sitting in his corner, Thomas was undoubtedly one of the most dominant goalies in any era.