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Thomas doesn’t usually dislike a person at first sight. He doesn’t usually dislike people at all. He doesn’t tend to take things personally, and he knows how to compartmentalise. There are plenty of guys who are jerks on the ice and really nice to him in person, and he finds, most of the time, that being nice to someone means they’ll probably be nice right back. The only guy on his team he really doesn’t like is Mayer, and that’s less the things he says to Thomas and more the things Thomas has heard him say to other people.
So Thomas is sure his impression of Connors on first sight was an unfair one, based more on the fact that he wasn’t Fourns than on who he actually was. And Connors immediately supports that. He’s friendly enough, and he may come off as a little boring, still, but Thomas figures he’s probably just shy. It’s pretty crazy, walking into a room where you don’t know anyone. The last time Thomas did it, he met Anton, so he’s fond in hindsight, but he’s pretty sure he was petrified. It must be even harder to do it when you’re older, when you’ve gotten attached to one place. Thomas left the Soo because he was too old to play for their team, and Hamilton was a promotion, too. Montreal was a promotion on Hamilton. With Connors, it’s just shuffling the deck, even though Montreal’s a better team than Colorado.
Thomas knows Connors is good. He’s played him before, one memorably bad game where the Habs put twice as many shots on net but still lost because Connors didn’t let anything past him, and Thomas let in one, one of those tricky ones that technically wasn’t his fault but felt like it anyway when time ticked down and they lost to a bottom of the barrel team. Since they signed Connors, Thomas has been watching some of his highlights. He doesn’t play like Fourns, or Thomas, for that matter, his hybrid geared more towards stand up than butterfly. He’s got four inches on Thomas and the reach that comes with it, plays the puck more than Thomas would be comfortable with, but he’s good at it. He’s better than Thomas, obviously, better than Fourns too, and Thomas knew from the start that he’d be playing less this season.
During preseason everyone gets their fair shake, a chance to prove themselves. The entire city, fans and media, seem to be on the edge of their seats about Connors, but a shut out against Boston and a .950 save percentage against Buffalo settle the crowd. Thomas plays pretty good himself, he thinks, and he’s not surprised when regular season rolls around and he’s the second goalie, but he’s still relieved.
Thomas notices Connors is a little weird around him the first regular season game he plays, but he doesn’t think much about it. They’re four games in, and that’s still early for settling, maybe especially when you don’t have a game to focus on unless the other guy gets injured or screws up. That seems to be proven when Thomas plays his next game, the second of a back to back, and Connors is completely normal to him.
Thomas doesn’t sit with him on the bus or the plane, like he did with Fourns. Connors knows Denisovich from their time on the the Avalanche, and sits with him. Thomas isn’t sick of Anton yet, so he tucks himself in there. That may be a bad idea if he wants to continue not to get sick of him, but they have TV to catch up on and a headphone splitter, so they’re good for now.
Thomas doesn’t get a chance to play for four straight games after that, which leaves him restless, but Connors is playing great and there haven’t been any double headers, so of course they’re going to play the hot goaltender. That streak ends halfway through the second period against Washington, after Connors lets in his fourth goal in twelve shots and Gagnon taps Thomas in. Connors doesn’t say anything when Thomas nudges him on his way to the net, when he’s tapping Thomas’ helmet after a late surge from the Habs, an offensive dearth from the Capitals, and a shut out from Thomas end up salvaging the game, doesn’t say anything after the game, not even looking at him.
Getting pulled sucks, Thomas knows that really well, and some guys take it harder than others, so he just pats Connors’ shoulder before he heads over to Anton, since it’s his turn to drive.
“You’d think we didn’t win,” Anton says, eyeing Connors, who’s still mostly dressed.
“Getting pulled is hard, cut him some slack,” Thomas says.
“I know it is,” Anton says, and when Thomas gives him a sceptical look, “I have done so much moral support duty, don’t you give me that look, Vincent.”
“Is that a metaphor?” Carmen says. “You been giving Vinny some of your hot ‘moral support’, Petrov?” He uses finger quotes and everything.
“Sandro,” Thomas groans, overlapping Anton’s, “Fuck off, Carmen,” and Bovard’s long-suffering, “Do you have to make everything dirty?”
By the time they get home, Thomas has forgotten about it, but maybe he shouldn’t have.
Connors is perfectly normal to him most of the time. Even nice, sometimes, though Thomas is pretty sure they’re never going to be best friends. That’s fine, though. Thomas did it with Stanton, too, and his dad always told him not everyone was going to like him, and he shouldn’t take it personally if they don’t, so he tries not to. Because Connors is cool most of the time, it takes a couple months for Thomas to realise that whenever he plays a game that isn’t necessary due to the presence of a back to back, Connors is weird with him. Not that it happens, that much, because he’s gradually been getting less games, and at this rate, his job is just going to be to open the door to the bench and fist bump them when they win. And they have been winning, they’ve been winning a lot, so it’s not like it’s a bad decision to play Connors all the time. They’d been strong on defence, getting better on offence, and now they’ve got goaltending too. They’re having a banner year.
This is starting to feel a lot like the situation in Hamilton, except in Hamilton Stanton was angry because Thomas started playing better and then took starter. Because Thomas was the one who went to the NHL. This isn’t even like when Fourns was mad, because Fourns wasn’t playing very well, so Thomas got the bulk of the games. Connors has the majority of the games. Thomas has less than when he was playing with Fournier, way less, but every time Thomas plays a game Connors acts like he stole it.
Thomas opens the door and fist bumps people when they win, and Connors is perfectly nice to him.
Thomas doesn’t like him very much, and that makes him feel guilty, and kind of like he’s imagining a conspiracy when there isn’t one.
Thomas decides he isn’t insane when Bovard corners him after a game he’s played (won!), a game that wasn’t a back to back, but in the middle of a long road trip. “What’s up with you and Connors?” he asks. Thomas doesn’t even have to look at Connors to guess he’s probably giving him that cold look.
“I have no idea,” Thomas says honestly.
“I’m going to talk to him about this,” Bovard says.
“Don — ” Thomas starts, but Bovard’s already walking away.
The next day, Connors is less cold and more openly hostile. It isn’t just Bovard shooting looks between them, this time. Thomas catches looks from Carmen, Grayson, Depardieu, and Anton. At the end of practice Connors says, “Way to fucking snitch,” and Thomas stares at him, open-mouthed, as he walks away.
Anton’s hovering within a minute flat, like he has an alarm that goes off in his head whenever someone’s not being nice to Thomas. He doesn’t say anything, though, and Thomas thinks maybe it’ll be dropped, but when they’re back in their hotel room, Anton immediately says, “What’d he say to you?”
Thomas considers denying he said anything, because letting Anton know will probably just make things worse, but he’s a bad liar, and Anton doesn’t pry unless he thinks it’s important, so he repeats what Connors said.
“Fuck that guy,” Anton says.
Usually Thomas will stick up for any other goalie automatically, because Anton can be critical, and say things about others that he’d never want to hear about himself. But this isn’t really about Connors’ goaltending, so Thomas doesn’t feel obligated. Instead he blows out a tired breath.
“Come here,” Anton says.
“I am here,” Thomas says, blinking.
Anton grabs him by the shoulders and tugs him in for a hug. Thomas didn’t even ask for moral support, but maybe he looked like he needed it. He honestly is okay. He’s taking it a little personally, because it’s hard not to take it personally, but he got a practice run on this with Stanton. He’s not going to turn down a hug, though, so he relaxes, tucking his chin against Anton’s neck.
“He’s not even good,” Anton says, which is going back to insulting other goalies’ skills, which Thomas told him not to do, and is also a complete lie.
“Yes he is,” Thomas argues. “He’s great. He’s going to bring us far.”
“Well he’s a douche,” Anton argues, which Thomas is kind of not going to disagree with, because it’s true, but also because Anton’s rubbing his back and it’s soothing. He tries to be fair to everyone, but he thinks he’s been pretty fair to Connors, and he is kind of a douche, at least to Thomas.
“Yeah, kind of,” Thomas says, and Anton laughs.