It is with extreme sadness that the San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) organization shares that long-time executive, goaltending coach and eight-year NHL veteran Wayne Thomas has passed away following a long battle with cancer.
Wayne passed peacefully at home surrounded by his family.
Robert Wayne Thomas was born to Arthur and Lillian Thomas in Ottawa, Ontario on October 9, 1947.
Boasting a love of the game of hockey from an early age, he began his journey with the Ottawa Capitals of the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) between 1963 and 1967 and was named the League's top goaltender in 1965–66.
Wayne then played three years of varsity hockey at the University of Wisconsin under coach Bob Johnson, recording a shutout in his first game in 1968, an 11–0 victory against Pennsylvania. In 1970, Wisconsin’s first season in the WCHA, he helped lead the team to the Frozen Four Tournament in Lake Placid, New York.
Wayne’s National Hockey League rights were originally held by the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was subsequently traded to the Los Angeles Kings organization in 1968, and eventually to the Montreal Canadiens in 1970.
Wayne spent the 1970-1972 seasons in the American Hockey League with Montreal and Nova Scotia, capturing the Calder Cup, the AHL championship trophy, in 1972 with Nova Scotia.
He made his NHL debut the following season with the Montreal Canadiens, becoming the tenth goalie in NHL history to record a shutout in his debut, with a 3–0 Canadiens victory against the Vancouver Canucks. He won his first seven consecutive home starts, and recorded an 8–1 record, along with a 2.37 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage enroute to being a member of the Canadiens 1972-73 Stanley Cup Championship team.
During the 1973-74 season, Wayne's goals-against average (2.77) was the fourth-best average in the NHL and on March 10, 1974, Wayne set a Canadiens record with 53 saves in a 5–4 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins (since tied by Carey Price.)
In June 1975, he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a first-round draft pick. The 1975-76 season would go on to be his best, playing in a career-high 64 games, posting 28 wins and being selected to the 1976 NHL All-Star Team.
The New York Rangers claimed Wayne in the 1977 Waiver Draft, and he would spend the next four seasons in The Big Apple, working in tandem with John Davidson.
He ended his NHL playing career in 1981, finishing with a 103-93-34 record, a 3.34 goals-against average and ten shutouts. Wayne also appeared in 82 Stanley Cup Playoff games with Toronto and the Rangers.
At the conclusion of his playing career, he was hired by the New York Rangers as a goaltending coach, one of the first in professional hockey, remaining in that position until the end of the 1984–85 season.
In 1985, Wayne became the head coach of the Salt Lake Golden Eagles of the International Hockey League (IHL). In his second year in Salt Lake City, the Golden Eagles won the League’s Championship, the Turner Cup, and Wayne was awarded the Commissioner's Trophy as the IHL's Coach of the Year.
Between 1986 and 1993, Wayne served as an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues.
In 1993, Wayne joined the San Jose Sharks as assistant to the general manager and assistant coach. Over the next 21 years, he would take on a more advanced, day-to-day role in working with the Sharks goaltenders and ultimately, become the team’s assistant general manager, where he was involved in all aspects of the Sharks on- and off-ice operations.
Wayne retired from the Sharks as Vice President and Assistant General Manager in 2015 after 45 years in professional hockey.
While he achieved great success as a member of several NHL front offices, Wayne’s core passion was his daily work on and off the ice with NHL goaltenders throughout his coaching career, too many to list here, and he continued fruitful relationships with many of them up until his passing.
He is survived by his wife, Barb (Baeder); daughters Gretchen Kane [husband Tim, and son Harrison (11)] of New York, NY; and Abra Larson [husband Hans, and son Erik (17) and daughter Elsje (15)] of Deephaven, MN; brother Gary Thomas (wife Ruth) of Richmond, Ontario and many nieces, nephews, and numerous extended family members.
During the last 17 years of Wayne's life, his greatest joy and love was his grandchildren. He was overjoyed to attend every activity, concert, play, and sporting event and was an active participant in their growth and development.
In lieu of flowers, Wayne asked that donations be made to his grandchildren’s’ schools:
