Personally, I think it's Detroit-or... Minnesota?

Here's what we know about Thomas:
1. He's a family man.
His family is in Michigan.

2. He's old.
Old guys don't come back to play on teams with a bunch of young kids or that are rebuilding.

3. He's a republican.
Don't give me shit for this... but... (I have enough Republican friends to know that) Republicans are pretty good & frugal with money.
So Thomas won't be at any financial hurt for cash. It's not like he's going to sign with a team because he needs the money.
(And please, please, let's not derail this thread... it's just one small point).


When players get old, their wishlist is as follows:
1. If they haven't won a cup, they want a chance to win the cup.
2. If they have won a cup, they are looking for either:
2a: A good location for their family... or
2b: A friendly locker room environment (i.e. good teammates).

The one thing that could deter Thomas from Detroit is that I doubt he has many buddies on the team. Buddies might be formed Bruins... or... maybe guys he's played with on Team USA. The Team USA guys are pretty young in general... but two of them did just sign in... Minnesota.

Minnesota, another team with a goalie with an expiring contract.
Yup, Niklas Backstrom's contract expires this year... and Minnesota might look to go in another direction. I've speculated that I could see Mike Smith in Minnesota because his wife is a US Olympic skiier (Minnesota = good skiing/snow). But, Minnesota could also consider Tim Thomas for a year or two and pair him with fellow US-Olympians: Ryan Suter & Zach Parise. With Heatley & Koivu, the lockerroom in Minnesota might be considered a more-veteran lockerroom and that might be attractive to Thomas.

1. Detroit
2. Minnesota (if they don't sign Mike Smith)