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Tomas Vokoun, the Panthers' new goalie, was a beloved figure in Nashville, where he was known to spend his spare time visiting cancer patients at the Vanderbilt University children's hospital.
BY GEORGE RICHARDS
grichards@MiamiHerald.com

Tomas Vokoun admits to being scared. No one could blame him. He had intense pain, yet doctors didn't know what was causing it.

Cancer, one of the scariest words in any language, had been mentioned.

'They kept telling me everything was going to be OK, but then it was like, `Let's do another test,' '' said Vokoun, the new starting goalie for the Florida Panthers.

``I knew there was something wrong, I just didn't know how bad or if it was life-threatening or what. We didn't know whether it was cancer or not. We knew there was something in my body that shouldn't have been there and, potentially, it was very dangerous. It was very scary.''

It turned out that Vokoun's pain was caused by a rare blood disorder that created blood clots in his abdomen. Vokoun was having a career year for Nashville, leading the Predators to their finest season. But because he needed to take blood thinners to dissolve the clots, he was forced to miss the final eight games of the 2005-06 season, and the playoffs.

Vokoun returned with a clear bill of health. In July 2006, doctors said he could return to work immediately, saying the condition was caused by a childhood accident. It's a condition that he has to live with but is under control.

An injured thumb cost Vokoun two months of the 2006-07 season, but he came on in the second half and helped lead Nashville back into the playoffs. Unlike in 2006, Vokoun was the starter for the Predators in the postseason.

Soon after San Jose dropped Nashville in five games, the Predators began dealing off assets. Vokoun was a casualty in Nashville's cost-cutting moves. The franchise is for sale and on shaky ground, possibly on the move after this coming season. Vokoun was to become the team's highest-paid player July 1, but instead, the team shopped his services.

BIG, QUICK GOALIE

Desperate for a top goalie after trading the one they had to Vancouver, the Panthers bit. On June 22, Florida sent three draft picks to Nashville for Vokoun.

''He's a big goalie, a quick goalie who is very talented,'' defenseman Mike Van Ryn said. ``I think we did a pretty good thing by acquiring him. It was a good move for our team.''

A large number of fans in Nashville were brokenhearted after the move. Not because they were losing an All-Star goalie, but because they were losing a top-flight person. Vokoun was known to spend his spare time visiting young cancer patients at the children's hospital at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Vokoun doesn't like to talk about his visits, saying it doesn't feel right taking credit for doing good in his community. ''I don't think charity should be something made public,'' he said. ``It's such a small little thing you can do.''

Although Vokoun doesn't talk about his works, plenty of others couldn't wait to speak up. From employees at Vanderbilt to children in the hospital to parents who dealt with him, there was plenty of praise heaped upon Vokoun.

And those exultations had nothing to do with hockey.

''It's a big loss for Nashville and a big loss for these kids and their families,'' said Jennifer Miller, a director at the Vanderbilt hospital. 'When they found out about the trade, it was like, `Are you serious?' He loves these kids and the kids looked up to him so much. He had such a big heart.

``To them, he could do no wrong. He could walk on water to these kids here.''

It's expected Vokoun -- a father of two children -- will continue his work once he takes up residence in South Florida. It's unfortunate, but pain and suffering isn't restricted to one community.

''Life is not fair,'' Vokoun said. ``You see kids who are sick, and they did nothing to deserve that. They are just innocent kids with their whole lives in front of them. Yet they're sick. It's not fair, that's for sure.''

The Panthers are going to pay Vokoun a lot of money to stop pucks, with Vokoun earning an average of $5.7 million over the next four seasons. The goodwill he brings to South Florida is a bonus.

In Nashville, Vokoun bought a luxury suite so the children with cancer could attend games throughout the season in a safe environment. After games, Vokoun played host to the children in the locker room and took time to visit and take pictures. Vokoun also recently bought one patient season tickets to Nashville games for the upcoming season.

When Vokoun was injured last season, he chose to watch home games in his suite with the children. When he was in the hospital in 2006, the children created cards and had them delivered to his room.

"HE WAS MY FAVORITE"

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