Blackhawks coach Brian Sutter was watching Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals Monday night at his home outside Calgary when his son, Shaun, asked him who he thought would score the game-winner.
“Well, for Anaheim, it’ll be Stump,” Sutter said of Steve “Stumpy” Thomas by phone Wednesday.
Just 39 seconds into overtime of a scoreless game, Thomas beat New Jersey goaltender Martin Brodeur for his first goal in the finals. And the Mighty Ducks tied the series 2-2, with Game 5 here Thursday night.
“He always has played hard, and he always has scored big goals,” Sutter said of Thomas. “He did for us his first year.”
It’s hard to pick which is more surprising about Thomas’ season–his resurgence in Anaheim after the Hawks dealt him at the trade deadline or his almost painful struggles this season in Chicago.
Thomas entered the season three short of 400 goals, and it seemed as though he never would reach that mark.
After scoring No. 398 against Calgary on Oct. 19, it took Thomas 51 games before he scored his next goal.
“I never considered sitting him out,” Sutter said. “He brings too much to the party.”
But while some wondered why Sutter didn’t sit Thomas for a game or two, others in the organization believed Sutter wasn’t using Thomas enough, or enough in situations in which he could thrive.
Thomas himself hinted as much after Game 4. Asked about his turnaround, Thomas credited Anaheim coach Mike Babcock with being “a coach who believed in me. I got an opportunity here to play, and play on a power play in key situations.”
In 69 games with the Hawks this season, Thomas averaged 12 minutes 17 seconds of ice time. Since coming to Anaheim, he has increased that by a bit more than a minute per game.
Anaheim got Thomas as much for his veteran leadership as for his knack of scoring big goals. After going those 51 games without a goal, he not only scored but netted a game-winner against Edmonton. He got No. 400 against Patrick Roy and the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 17.
“Never once this year did I think I couldn’t make a difference on any team I was playing on,” Thomas said.
Sutter said he wasn’t surprised Thomas got hot in Anaheim because he has had a history of being a streaky goal scorer.
“If he would have gotten those eight or 10 goals when we were going through our stretch of not scoring, we would have made the playoffs,” Sutter said.
As the playoffs fell out of reach for the Hawks, general manager Mike Smith told Thomas he would try to trade him to a playoff-bound team.
“He expected to go to a Canadian team,” Smith said.
With his children in school in Toronto, Thomas was initially apprehensive about going to the West Coast for such a long period of time.
“I didn’t know what to think of it at the time,” Thomas said. “I didn’t know for sure how far we were going in the playoffs.”
But the Mighty Ducks weren’t apprehensive about welcoming him into their dressing room.
“He’s superior,” Babcock said. “He’s in your face, he’s on the puck, he’s tenacious. . . . Also, he’s as excited as any player I’ve ever seen.”
It’s because of that excitement that Smith believes Thomas can play another season or two. He’ll be a free agent after this season.
“He still has the enthusiasm of an 18 year old,” Smith said of Thomas, who turns 40 in July.
Whether Thomas will return to the Ducks next season will be decided over the summer. All of a sudden, Anaheim seems a lot more attractive than it did in March.
“I have been so pleasantly surprised, very fortunate and honored to be sitting behind some of the guys I’m sitting behind and going to war with in this Stanley Cup finals,” Thomas said. “I have to pinch myself every time in that locker room.”
