Ducks Get an Energy Boost From Thomas

If his teammates’ wardrobe of shorts and flip-flops didn’t tell Steve Thomas he wasn’t in Chicago anymore, the palm trees did.

Thomas, acquired by the Mighty Ducks from the Blackhawks hours before the March 11 trading deadline, is still marveling at his new habitat. To Thomas, accustomed to frigid winters, something’s off-kilter if the sky is cloudless and he’s walking outside in short sleeves when his internal calendar tells him he should be wearing a coat and dodging stray snowflakes.

“We go to practice and come out and it feels like summer,” he said, incredulous.

To the Ducks, he has been a man for all seasons.

For the NHL equivalent of a bag of shells -- a fifth-round draft pick -- Duck General Manager Bryan Murray added a right wing with grit, tenacity, and great hands that have found the net 411 times in 19 seasons and 50 times in 147 playoff games. In 12 games with the Ducks, Thomas has scored 10 goals -- three more than Tony Amonte has since being traded from Phoenix to Philadelphia and three more than Owen Nolan has since being dealt from San Jose to Toronto, both in deadline-beating deals. Three of Thomas’ goals were game-winners and two were in overtime; he has 13 career overtime goals, the most in NHL history.

“This is my 19th year, and I’ve never won the Cup before,” said Thomas, who scored two goals and set up the third in the Ducks’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche Friday at the Arrowhead Pond. “If this is my last kick at the can, I’m going to do whatever it takes to spark some enthusiasm.

“I’ve never been someone who just goes out and plays the game. I’m a competitive guy by nature. I can’t stand seeing talented teammates not give it their best. People talk about my leadership, but most of it stems from my on-ice work ethic rather than standing up and saying something in the room. But if leadership means standing up in the room now and then, that’s what I’ll do.”

Thomas will be 40 on July 15, two weeks after he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Murray didn’t bring him to Anaheim to be a building block for a team that next week will make its first playoff appearance since the 1998-99 season. Murray got Thomas to add energy, urgency and experience. Thomas has done that and more.

“I coached against Steve a long time and he’s a gritty, never-back-down kind of guy,” Murray said. “If you played against him, you’d hate him. He’d run one of your better players. He performs hard, and we don’t have a lot of contact players....

“The other thing he’s done is shoot the puck. I can’t say I expected him to score as much as he’s scored.”

In Chicago, where he was on his second tour following detours to the New York Islanders, New Jersey and Toronto, Thomas had become a spare part. He averaged 12 minutes 44 seconds a game and had scored four goals and 17 points in 69 games. Murray recalled Blackhawk Coach Brian Sutter saying Thomas would be OK, “if you don’t ask too much.”

The Ducks asked for a little and have gotten a lot. He has flourished alongside rookie left wing Stanislav Chistov and center Samuel Pahlsson, who have the skill to get him the puck so he can barge through traffic around the net and score. He knows when to stand up and when to back off, invaluable examples to a team still developing its identity.

“He gets the puck and shoots it,” Duck Coach Mike Babcock said, “and he’s not scared to open his mouth. He shows leadership on the bench and in the room.”

Besides, he’s a contemporary for Babcock, who will be 40 in a few weeks, and 40-year-old center Adam Oates. “Oatesie and I needed someone to hang with,” Babcock joked.

If they want to hang with someone intent on winning, they found the right guy. If he can ignore his age, he can certainly avoid being distracted by sunshine and palm trees. Hockey is hockey, whether snow drifts or the Pacific Ocean lie outside the door, and Thomas is grateful for the unexpected gift of having games deep into April.

How far the Ducks will go in the playoffs is anyone’s guess. Their chances are better with Thomas to guide them.

“The No. 1 thing I’ve really noticed since I’ve been here is that we fall behind early but seem to come back,” he said. “That piques my interest, that we’re able to come back. If you’re down two or three goals it takes a tremendous amount of character and inner drive to succeed and that’s great to know, that we’ve got a team that never throws in the towel.”