Thomas played in 33 of the B's final 35 games. (Getty Images)

This Tim Thomas story just got really interesting real fast.

On Thursday night Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com reported that Thomas was seriously considering sitting out next season not just from the Bruins but hockey period. It seemed a bit strange and out of left field, but then again it's Thoms we're talking about and, well, let's just say he fits the stereotypical goalie mold.

But now it seems a lot more real after a Friday press conference with GM Peter Chiarelli that was supposed to be about the Bruins re-signing Daniel Paille and Chris Bourque. Instead the news-maker of the session was Chiarelli admitting to the media that Thomas was indeed pondering a sabbatical.

"I'm approaching this season as if Tim Thomas won't be playing next year," Chiarelli said on Friday. "There's a strong chance he'll be taking year off."

Wow, I honestly didn't expect for Chiarelli to confirm or deny the report, but the fact that he is makes me take this report a lot more seriously. Before, I assumed that it was more of an idel threat than anything else by Thomas. For some reason or another he was threatening the Bruins he would sit out. Maybe it really is as simple as wanting to spend a year at home.

"He wants to spend more time with his family," Chiarelli explained. "I respect that too. I was definitely surprised."

It is a little tough not to respect that wish by a player, even one as talented as Thomas. But at the same time it has to be a little frustrating. The player signed the contract and he should live up to it. If you aren't playing on your own decision about the only appropriate route in my eyes is retirement.

Why? Well if Thomas goes through with a sabbatical then Chiarelli won't have much choice but to suspend Thomas. That means not only will his contract stay on the books for another year but it will also go against Boston's salary cap. So they could be saddled with $5 million in dead space on the salary cap. That's not an enviable spot.

However Chiarelli is left in the position of having to assume that will be the case, that Thomas won't be at his disposal for next season. You must prepare for the worst.

The good news for the Bruins here is that they have one of the very best backups in the league in Tuukka Rask and a third-stringer in Anton Khudobin they are relatively high on. That's not being left completely in the lurch, the Bruins had to have at least pondered life after Thomas by now anyway.

"I'd be more than satisfied with Tuukka [Rask] and Khudobin as our goaltenders," Chiarelli said.

The obvious conclusion to draw from that is that the Bruins aren't likely to be a player for one of the goalies this summer, even if Thomas isn't coming back.

Back to Thomas -- does anybody really think that a 38-year-old stepping away for a season is going to come back after a year off? There's no guarantee he would even want to come back, although he would like to play in the 2014 Olympics according to Chiarelli. My first reaction to that: Has Thomas ever heard of Jonathan Quick, Cory Schneider, Ryan Miller, Craig Anderson and/or Jimmy Howard? In two years time they might all be ahead of him in the Olympics conversation.

Moreover, another aspect of this possible sabbatical is that it severly hampers Chiarelli if he was considering trading Thomas, something that had been speculated a bit. Now he would have a very hard time getting a taker for Thomas, even if he does come back. This won't help convince a team that might be interested in bringing him onboard that he's committed to hockey.

I guess this is a lesson to come to expect the unexpected from goalies, in particular Thomas.

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