Tim Thomas named to U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame

Well, it's about darn time this happened!

Earlier today, I didn't even know there was a U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame and now, news broke that Tim Thomas got into it. This is fantastic news for an absolutely legendary retired NHL player who holds a special place in Bruins history. And no, to reiterate, this isn't the Hockey Hall of Fame in Canada, but one just for American players -- not the official NHL one.

The announcement came on Wednesday and Thomas will be inducted alongside the rest of the class on Dec. 12 at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C.. In other words, he will be inducted in the fall--one season later than it currently is (it's still the summer).

Thomas had a productive NHL career which spanned from 2003 to 2014. He came up with the Bruins organization and didn't become a real full-time NHL goaltender until he was about 31 years old. Even so, he ended up having a productive career. He allowed 2.52 goals per contest and posted a .920 save percentage in the process.

Oh yeah, and he was the starting goaltender for the Bruins when they won the Stanley Cup in 2011. That has to be worth something and to me, it makes perfect sense that a guy who led the Bruins through that grind of a postseason gets some kind of an honor or big award for what he did there. This fits the bill well.

Sadly for Tuukka Rask, this is a Hall of Fame he would never be allowed in even if he ends up having a better career than Thomas. The Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame however, if there is a such thing, might end up calling his name. If it is real, I don't see any reason why he should not be a first ballot Hall of Famer