Wayne Thomas, ex-NHL goalie, assistant and executive dies at 77

New York Islanders' Mike Bossy, left, watches the puck about to be deflected by New York Rangers goalie Wayne Thomas during an NHL hockey game at New York's Madison Square Garden, Nov. 12, 1978. (AP Photo/Ray Stubblebine, File)

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Former NHL goaltender Wayne Thomas, who went on to have a lengthy career in hockey as a coach and an executive, has died from cancer. He was 77.

A spokesperson for the San Jose Sharks confirmed the team learned of Thomas’ death Wednesday from his family. The spokesperson said Thomas died at his home in Falmouth, Massachusetts.

An Ottawa native, Thomas tended goal for Montreal, Toronto and the New York Rangers from 1973-80. He immediately went into coaching and spent time as an assistant with New York, Chicago, St. Louis and San Jose, with stints running the bench in the International Hockey League for teams in Salt Lake City and Peoria.

Thomas spent nearly two decades in the Sharks’ front office from the mid-1990s through 2015, a vast majority of the time in which he served as assistant general manager and vice president of hockey operations and oversaw their American Hockey League club.

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The Associated Press