It's always something with Tim Thomas. 

Three years ago, he was coming off a Vezina season. Two seasons ago, his summer was dominated by trade rumors while he also had to recover from hip surgery. Last year, he spent June winning the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe before picking up a second Vezina in the offseason. 

This offseason, one that came a lot earlier than expected, should be a reprise of the his trade-rumor heavy 2010. He's entering the final year of his four-year deal, will no longer have a no-trade clause and will see his salary drop to $3 million from $5 million. Furthermore, Tuukka Rask is a restricted free agent, so the team could have to offer him a bigger role in order to meet the Finnish netminder's requirements in negotiations. 

"The future will work itself out," Thomas said. "You can't plan the future. The plan was for Tuukka to not ever get hurt this year … so what's the use of speculating about plans that are down the road when we're two days out of the playoffs? I don't even know what I'm going to do over the next few days." 

Rask said Friday that though the two sides have not talked, his intention is to sign a longterm deal with the team, and even noted that he would do so even if he knew Thomas would be back and starting. 

“I think there's a clear plan,” he said. “I think everybody's been talking about it for a long time. It's not about the money, it's more about what's good for everybody. I've always said I like it here, and I think we have a great group of guys and the organization is great, so I don't see why anyone wouldn't want to be here. In my case, I love it here and we've just got to make things work.”

Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said that while he has to sign Rask, he expects that to be the extent of his work with the goaltenders. 

“I know I’ve seen speculation about moving a goalie and all that stuff, but certainly I’m not inclined to do that,” Chiarelli said. “Tim didn’t have statistically the year he had before but I thought he had a very good year. We have, if not the best, one of the top three goalie tandems in the league.”

Statistically, Chiarelli is correct. After Thomas had an NHL-record .938 save percentage and a 2.00 goals against average in the Cup-winning 2010-11 season, he posted more humanlike numbers with a .920 save percentage and 2.36 GAA. It was the first time in four years in which a Bruins goalie didn’t lead the league both stats. 

Still, if the Bruins can afford it – which they can – they would be wise to retain Thomas. He’ll be in the last year of his deal, and if he plans on playing beyond it (he’s 38), having a top player in a contract year can mean huge production. Plus, would the Bruins be ready to hand the keys to the kingdom to Rask as he comes back from an abdomen/groin strain?

The summer will be dominated by trade rumors surrounding Thomas. The Bruins will get calls, and maybe they’ll even make a few. That doesn’t mean the modern Bruins legend is as good as gone. 

TALKIN' PRONOUNS WITH TIM THOMAS 

Following Game 7, Thomas praised his teammates by saying, "They are still champions," among other things. A reporter took the quote and noted the use of the word "they" rather than "we" could suggest that Thomas was subtly drawing a line in the sand between he and the Bruins. 

Such an accusation is a reach to be sure, but in a season in which Thomas has been subject to additional media scrutiny, it's nothing new. Thomas was asked about his pronouns on Friday. 

"That's because I'm trying to give them credit," he said. "I'm trying to give them credit without giving credit to myself because they deserve a huge amount of credit, so don't read too much into the 'they/us' please. 

"Basically I'm trying to say this is a special group of guys in here, whether we won the Cup last year, whether we failed this time. This is a special group of guys that bodes well for the future of the Boston Bruins."

Thomas has obviously been the center of attention quite a bit this season for things not relating to hockey. He chose not to attend the White House in January due to political differences, and drew further attention to himself when he began posting political statements on his Facebook page. Thomas was asked directly Friday whether he regrets anything -- on or off the ice -- that he has done this season. 

"Not really," he said. "I did the best I could. On and off the ice I tried to do what I felt was right. I tried to prepare myself as much as possible to do the best job that I could possibly do on the ice, which is obviously when it's the most important as a professional athlete."

For whatever smear campaigns there have been against Thomas, Bruins players said Friday that they hoped to have him back next year. 

"In the locker room, we know Tim," Shawn Thornton. "I've played with him for five years now. All the speculation, all the [expletive], I don't pay too much attention to it." 

For what it's worth, the quote sheet from which that "they" quote was pulled after Game 7 had him referring to the team as "we," "us" or "ourselves" every time he spoke about the team. Only when he was specifically talking about teammates did he say "they."

THOMAS' LAST MOMENT AS A BRUIN?

If Thomas is dealt over the offseason, his last act on the ice as a Bruin will have been a touching one. 

After Joel Ward scored the game-winner in overtime and both teams were on the ice to shake hands, Thomas skated over to the boards and pointed at a young fan. He then pointed to his face as he smiled wide. Thomas was trying to cheer up a fan who had clearly taken the loss as hard as many Bruins fans. 

“That was my daughter,” Thomas said. “She was crying. I don't want to see anybody crying over hockey, especially a seven year old.”

For Thomas, it should be a moment that he remembers long after his playing days are done. It came at the worst part of the season, one in which an entire city couldn’t have felt as bad as the individuals on the ice did, but the two-time Vezina winner was able to put a smile on his face for family. 

Said Thomas: “I was happy that even though we lost, I was just happy that they were there and we were able to share the experience.”