Former NCAA and NHL netminder Wayne Thomas (Wisconsin) passed away earlier this week at the age of 77. The Ottawa native was the first University of Wisconsin player to skate in the National Hockey League, and the first former Badger to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.
Thomas backstopped the Badgers for two seasons, compiling a 23-13-1 record with a 2.84 goals-against average and three shutouts over 38 games from 1968 to 1970. He also helped Wisconsin to the 1970 NCAA semifinals, where it finished in third place, while personally earning WCHA Second Team All-Star status that season.
Undrafted, Thomas went on to play in 243 career NHL regular-season games with Montreal, Toronto and the New York Rangers, fashioning a 103-93-34 record with a 3.34 GAA and 10 shutouts. He also appeared in 85 career regular-season outings in the American Hockey League, winning a Calder Cup championship with Nova Scotia in 1972, before winning the Stanley Cup the following year with Montreal.
Thomas, who retired as an active player following the 1980-81 NHL season, went on to work one year as a goalie coach and then three years as an assistant coach with the Rangers. He then served two seasons as head coach of the International Hockey League's Salt Lake Golden Eagles, leading them to the 1987 Turner Cup title while also earning IHL Coach of the Year accolades that season. After one year as an assistant with the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks, he spent two years as head coach of Peoria (IHL) before serving the next six seasons as an NHL assistant, three with the St. Louis Blues and three with the San Jose Sharks.
Thomas moved into the front office with the San Jose organization in 1995-96, where he remained until his retirement in 2014-15. In that span he served as assistant general manager and vice-president of hockey operations with the Sharks, and as GM in the AHL with Kentucky, Cleveland and Worcester.
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