There were plenty of things one could question during Wednesday night’s NHL Awards in Las Vegas, though nothing hockey-related could touch the bewilderment brought on by Criss Angel’s presence, any of Jay Mohr’s accents or Donny Osmond’s insistence that everyone know his life story.  

Celebrity antics aside, there was some uncertainty surrounding the awards. Any one of the three Norris finalists could have taken home the award for best defensive player without it coming as a huge surprise, and there was at least some debate over the Jack Adams before Dan Bylsma won.

Yet when it came to the Vezina trophy, there was no discussion, no argument and no second thought — just one grinning Michigan native and one mustache. 

Not only was Tim Thomas’ dominance in (yes, Roberto, and out of) the crease the best of any goaltender this season, but his importance to his team was far greater than anyone could have anticipated a year ago. And, as it would turn out, Thomas was so much more than a Vezina-winner in his historic 2010-11 campaign. 

Throughout the Bruins’ championship season (and long before anyone could confidently say it was such), many of the storylines weaving in and out of TD Garden had something to do with Thomas, and for good reason. Each week, Thomas’ sustained excellence brought either a new statistical nugget or some interesting historical comparison. For the 2010-11 season, Tim Thomas was the story. 

Because Thomas winning the Vezina — his second in three years — had been a forgone conclusion for most of the regular season, it’s something people were already looking past by the time the votes for the award were cast. It wasn’t about whether he could dominate the regular season again in future seasons. It was whether Thomas’ historic pace would last into the playoffs.

As the regular season was winding down, we took a look at whether Thomas’ dominance in the regular season could somehow be a bad thing come the playoffs. After all, only one Vezina-winning goaltender in the previous 10 years had made it out of the second round, and it was clear that Thomas would be winning again. The 37-year-old was a shade below his regular-season form through the first two rounds, and despite allowing four or more goals in four games during the seven-game Eastern Conference finals, he absolutely dazzled when he needed to, just as he had through the first two rounds. He made two gargantuan saves in Game 5’s, as he stoned Brian Gionta in overtime in the first round and made an incredible stick save on Steve Downie in the conference finals. Had he allowed either of those to go in and let the opposition come away with a win, the Bruins’ opponent in both series would have had the chance to head home for Game 6 and potentially advance at Boston’s expense. 

So when Thomas stood there accepting the award, carefully choosing his words in a style as signature as his sprawling on-ice tendencies, it seemed to be just a footnote at the bottom of one of the greatest pages a hockey player has ever written. 

Now, with everything won and the season in the books, the time has now come to look to future seasons. While the Hall of Fame is likely out of his reach given how much of his career was spent either in the AHL or overseas, there is certainly more room for Thomas to leave his mark on the league and in the record books. With two years remaining on his contract with an annual cap hit of $5 million, Thomas could continue to continue to be worth every penny despite his contract appearing to be disaster since the day it was signed.

Could Thomas repeat the feat once again and become just the third three-time Vezina-winner since the criteria changed in 1982? Undoubtedly. Whether he will depends on a couple of things. Since he first won the Vezina in the 2008-09 season, it has seemed that only injuries could get in his way. With a “backup” as good as capable as Tuukka Rask and the team having to know that he’ll eventually be the guy, any combination of injury/inconsistency could open the door for the Bruins’ goaltending pendulum to swing in Rask’s favor once again. But, as Thomas loosely said after winning the Cup, he’s probably earned the edge going into next season, and if the job’s his, who’s to say he can’t turn in another one of these miracle seasons? If he can, Boston couldn’t be more spoiled. If he can’t, the Bruins will have one of the greatest goaltending seasons ever on which to pride itself. 

When all is said in done with regard to Thomas’ career, there will be plenty of hardware with his name on it. Multiple Vezinas, the Conn Smythe and some other big trophy he held up recently, the name of which we can’t remember — the Stanley something. As much as he’ll have done, it will be astonishing if he does anything to top his 2010-11 performance, both in the regular season and in the playoffs. 

“The way I feel is I have plenty of good years ahead of me, and the goal is always to get better,” Thomas said after winning the award. “I think that should be everybody’s approach in life at whatever they choose to do.”

The bar has been set pretty high, and it’s been beyond impressive — even if Thomas doesn’t want to stop and notice just yet.