Tim Thomas Wants To Take A Year Off?

When Tim Thomas announced today that he might decide to "take a year off", many pundits were left scratching their heads wondering why he wouldn't just retire. At the age of 38, his playing window is very small. Taking a year off and coming back to play at 40 doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Even if he were to retire, because his contract was signed after age 35, his $5M would still count against the cap.  Were he to file his retirement papers, the Bruins would not be able to trade him. Staying "active" still allows Boston to trade his rights, which might be the entire purpose of this facade. This might be Timmy's way of saying "trade me right f**king now", though he's not necessarily helping his trade value. If I had to read between the lines, he's saying that he doesn't want to play in Boston anymore. If he's traded this summer, my guess is he'll be on the ice in October. It's likely that he has played his last game as a Boston Bruin.