Wayne Thomas, a goalie for the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers who played eight seasons in the NHL and later served as an executive with the San Jose Sharks, has died.

The Sharks announced Wednesday that the 77-year-old, who had cancer, died peacefully at home surrounded by his family.

Thomas was born in Ottawa on Oct. 9, 1947, setting off into his hockey career with the Ottawa Capitals of the Central Canada Hockey League between 1963-67, named the CCHL’s top goalie in 1965-66.

He went on to play three years of varsity hockey at the University of Wisconsin under coach Bob Johnson and had a shutout in his first game in 1968, an 11-0 victory against Pennsylvania. In 1970, Wisconsin’s first season in the WCHA, he helped lead the team to the Frozen Four Tournament.

Thomas’s NHL rights were originally held by the Maple Leafs. He was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 1968 with forwards Gary Croteau and Brian Murphy for forward Grant Moore and defenseman Lou Deveault.

He would be part of a six-player trade between the Kings and Canadiens on May 22, 1970, going to Montreal with defenseman Gregg Boddy and forward Leon Rochefort in exchange for forwards Lucien Grenier and Larry Mickey and goalie Jack Norris.

Thomas spent the 1970-72 seasons in the American Hockey League with Montreal and Nova Scotia, winning the Calder Cup with Nova Scotia.

He made his NHL debut in 1972 with the Canadiens, becoming the 10th goalie in NHL history to have a shutout in his debut, a 3-0 win against the Vancouver Canucks. Thomas won his first seven consecutive home starts, going 8-1-0 with a 2.37 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage and was a member of the Canadiens’ 1972-73 Stanley Cup-winning team.

His 2.77 GAA was the fourth-best in the NHL that season and on March 10, 1974, he set a Canadiens franchise record with 53 saves in a 5-4 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins (since tied by Carey Price).

Thomas was traded to the Maple Leafs on June 17, 1975, for a first-round selection in the 1976 NHL Draft (Peter Lee). During the 1975-76 season, he played in a career-high 64 games, had 28 wins and was selected to the 1976 NHL All-Star Team.