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Kimmo Timonen

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Kimmo Timonen
Timonen with the Philadelphia Flyers in March 2009
Born (1975-03-18) 18 March 1975 (age 49)
Kuopio, Finland
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Left
Played for KalPa
TPS
HIFK
Nashville Predators
HC Lugano
Brynäs IF
Philadelphia Flyers
Chicago Blackhawks
National team  Finland
NHL draft 250th overall, 1993
Los Angeles Kings
Playing career 1991–2015

Kimmo Samuel Timonen (born 18 March 1975) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, and Chicago Blackhawks. Timonen had played in over 1,100 NHL games before retiring. During his career, Timonen had also featured in three IIHF World Junior Championships, seven IIHF World Championships, two World Cups and five Olympic tournaments.[1] He won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2015 in his final career game.

He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2020.[2]

Playing career

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Timonen was the youngest player to play for Finland at the 1993 IIHF World Junior Championships at the age of 17. He recorded the second-highest shot total in the tournament with 44.

Timonen was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the tenth round, 250th overall, of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. After the draft, he continued to play in his native Finland for several years, first for KalPa and then later for TPS. In 1998, Timonen played on the bronze medal-winning Finnish Olympic team in Nagano. Shortly after the Olympics, the Kings traded him, along with Jan Vopat, to the Nashville Predators organization (the team not yet having begun play) in agreement that Nashville would not select Garry Galley in the 1998 NHL Expansion Draft.

Timonen spent his first eight NHL seasons with the Predators.

With the Nashville Predators

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During the 1998–99 season, Timonen split time between Nashville and their IHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals. The following year, he was promoted to a full-time NHL player. He played the next four seasons for the Predators, steadily improving his offensive output, until the 2004–05 NHL lockout. During the lockout, Timonen played for his hometown team, KalPa, which he partly owns with former Flyers teammate Sami Kapanen. Timonen also persuaded his teammate Adam Hall to play for KalPa for the duration of the lockout.

Timonen represented Finland at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and led his team in scoring with six points, the fifth-highest total overall in the tournament.

On 3 October 2006, Timonen was named the captain of the Nashville Predators for the 2006–07 season.[3] That season proved to be a career year for Timonen, as he registered career highs in both assists and total points.

With the Philadelphia Flyers

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Following the 2006–07 season, Timonen was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. Shortly after, he signed a six-year, $37.8 million contract extension with them, a deal which made him the highest paid Finn in the NHL.[4] At the time, Timonen's younger brother Jussi Timonen was playing for the Philadelphia Phantoms, the Flyers' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate. However, Jussi was subsequently traded to the Dallas Stars early in the 2007–08 season.[5]

Timonen with the Flyers in October 2010.

The Flyers beat the Washington Capitals 4–3 and the Montreal Canadiens 4–1 in the first two rounds of the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs. During Game 4 of the Flyers' series with Montreal, Timonen was hit by a wrist shot on his foot by Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov. Timonen felt numbness in his foot as the week progressed, though believed it to be nothing but a twisted nerve. After an MRI failed to reveal any injury, Timonen had the foot examined at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where, on 8 May, the doctor found a small blood clot in his foot. He was sidelined indefinitely and missed the first four games of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Timonen returned for Game 5, but the Flyers eventually lost the game and their playoff run came to an end.[6]

In the 2009–10 regular season, Timonen led all NHL defensemen in shorthanded goals scored, with two.[7] That year, Timonen would play in his first ever Stanley Cup Finals, though the Flyers would lose to the Chicago Blackhawks in a six-game series.

Timonen scored his 100th career goal on 5 March 2011, against the Buffalo Sabres. He ended the season in a tie with Marc Staal for most shorthanded goals among defensemen, with two.[8]

Timonen recorded his 500th career point with an assist on 1 March 2012, against the New York Islanders. He played his 1,000th NHL game on 18 March 2013, his 37th birthday.

Timonen (left foreground) and Braydon Coburn with the Flyers in March 2014.

Blood clots and Stanley Cup victory with the Chicago Blackhawks

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While preparing for the 2014–15 season, on 5 August 2014, Timonen was diagnosed with blood clots in both of his lungs as well as in his right leg.[9] The serious nature of injury ruled Timonen out indefinitely with the Flyers. Approaching the NHL trade deadline, and returning to health after missing the first 62 games of the season, Timonen was traded by the Flyers to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a 2015 second-round pick and 2016 conditional fourth-round pick on 27 February 2015. He left the Flyers organization as the third most productive defenseman in franchise history, with 270 points in 519 games.[10] On 21 March 2015, he played in his 1,100th NHL game.[11]

On 5 March, Timonen announced his intent to retire from professional hockey after the 2014–15 season. On 15 June, Timonen won his first Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in the final game of his 20-year career.[12] During the celebration, Timonen was the first player to receive the Stanley Cup following captain Jonathan Toews. Timonen reflected on his career stating, "I was dreaming about this moment for a long time, and it’s right here. This game has given me so much, and I’m relieved, happy, ready to leave this game, and I’m leaving this game as a Stanley Cup champion."[13] He was the last active player in the NHL from the 1993 NHL entry draft.

In February 2016, President Barack Obama received the winning Blackhawks team in the White House. During his speech, he unexpectedly gave Timonen a laudation:[14][15]

You all know the big names on this team, seven players were here for all three titles, the guys you’ve heard me talk about twice before, so today I actually wanna give the spotlight to two of the unsung heroes on this team, and they're the kind of guys that are behind the scenes of every winning team in sports and beyond. First there is Kimmo Timonen. Now Kimmo already had a great career before last season. He had been to the Stanley Cup final, Olympic final, World Championship final — he had lost them all… [laughter from the audience] … Just telling the truth… [more laughter] … In August he was diagnosed with blood clots in his lungs and his calf, he wasn’t even sure he’d play again. He was traded to Chicago mid-season, fought back on the ice, his final NHL game, at the age of 40, Kimmo finally hoisted the Cup. And that, first of all, as an old guy, it makes me feel good, but it’s also a sign of a great career when somebody who’s just able to stick with it and consistently contribute and make a huge difference, so give Kimmo a big one!

Timonen commented on this to the Finnish state broadcasting company YLE:[14]

This was absolutely a total surprise, and he really made a funny speech, and even to get a mention from him was such an honor for me, and then, of course, when he took a stand on my problems with blood clots, and when you think of what kind of a program I had to go through before I could put my skates on again, it really stirs some powerful feelings in an old man like me, I must admit. And the Stanley Cup victory brought with it some great things that I got to do, and for sure, this was one thing that I absolutely wanted to experience, and I’ll certainly remember this for the rest of my life.

Personal life

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Kimmo is married to Johanna Timonen and has 3 children.[16] Kimmo announced his retirement after winning the Stanley Cup in 2015 with the Blackhawks. Timonen owns several restaurants and nightclubs in his hometown of Kuopio.[17]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1990–91 KalPa FIN U20 4 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
1991–92 KalPa FIN U20 19 3 7 10 2 — — — — —
1991–92 KalPa SM-l 5 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1992–93 KalPa FIN U18 3 0 5 5 0 — — — — —
1992–93 KalPa FIN.2 U20 6 6 4 10 2 10 3 11 14 8
1992–93 KalPa SM-l 33 0 2 2 4 — — — — —
1993–94 KalPa FIN.2 U20 1 2 1 3 0 4 2 6 8 0
1993–94 KalPa SM-l 46 6 7 13 55 — — — — —
1994–95 TPS FIN U20 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1994–95 TPS SM-l 45 3 4 7 10 13 0 1 1 11
1995–96 TPS SM-l 48 3 21 24 22 9 1 2 3 12
1996–97 TPS SM-l 50 10 14 24 18 12 2 7 9 8
1997–98 HIFK SM-l 45 10 15 25 24 9 3 4 7 8
1998–99 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 29 2 13 15 22 — — — — —
1998–99 Nashville Predators NHL 50 4 8 12 30 — — — — —
1999–2000 Nashville Predators NHL 51 8 25 33 26 — — — — —
2000–01 Nashville Predators NHL 82 12 13 25 50 — — — — —
2001–02 Nashville Predators NHL 82 13 29 42 28 — — — — —
2002–03 Nashville Predators NHL 72 6 34 40 46 — — — — —
2003–04 Nashville Predators NHL 77 12 32 44 52 6 0 0 0 10
2004–05 HC Lugano NLA 3 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
2004–05 Brynäs IF SEL 10 5 3 8 8 — — — — —
2004–05 KalPa Mestis 12 4 13 17 6 8 3 7 10 4
2005–06 Nashville Predators NHL 79 11 39 50 74 5 1 3 4 4
2006–07 Nashville Predators NHL 80 13 42 55 42 5 0 2 2 4
2007–08 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 80 8 36 44 50 13 0 6 6 8
2008–09 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 77 3 40 43 54 6 0 1 1 12
2009–10 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 6 33 39 50 23 1 10 11 20
2010–11 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 6 31 37 36 11 1 5 6 14
2011–12 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 76 4 39 43 46 11 1 3 4 23
2012–13 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 45 5 24 29 36 — — — — —
2013–14 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 77 6 29 35 32 7 0 1 1 4
2014–15 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 16 0 0 0 2 18 0 0 0 10
SM-l totals 272 32 63 95 133 43 6 14 20 39
NHL totals 1,108 117 454 571 654 105 4 31 35 109

International

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Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing  Finland
Winter Olympics
Silver medal – second place 2006 Turin
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Nagano
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Vancouver
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Sochi
World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2004 Toronto
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 1998 Switzerland
Silver medal – second place 1999 Norway
Silver medal – second place 2001 Germany
Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
1992 Finland EJC 5th 4 0 0 0 0
1993 Finland WJC 5th 7 2 0 2 6
1993 Finland EJC 4th 6 2 2 4 2
1994 Finland WJC 4th 7 3 3 6 4
1995 Finland WJC 4th 7 2 6 8 4
1996 Finland WC 5th 6 0 1 1 0
1998 Finland OG 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 0 1 1 2
1998 Finland WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 10 2 6 8 4
1999 Finland WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 10 1 4 5 6
2001 Finland WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 9 2 2 4 10
2002 Finland OG 6th 4 0 1 1 2
2002 Finland WC 4th 9 1 2 3 8
2003 Finland WC 5th 7 2 5 7 2
2004 Finland WCH 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 6 1 5 6 2
2005 Finland WC 7th 6 2 1 3 6
2006 Finland OG 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 8 1 4 5 2
2010 Finland OG 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 2 2 4 2
2014 Finland OG 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 6 0 2 2 0
Junior totals 31 9 11 20 16
Senior totals 93 14 36 50 46

Awards

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Elite Prospects". Elite Prospects. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  2. ^ Podnieks, Andrew (4 February 2020). "Legends join IIHF Hall of Fame". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  3. ^ "Preds name Timonen captain, send Radulov to AHL". ESPN. 3 October 2006. Retrieved 5 October 2007.
  4. ^ "Flyers acquire, sign Hartnell and Timonen". The Sports Network. 22 May 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2007.
  5. ^ "Flyers trade Jussi Timonen to Dallas". Philadelphia Flyers. 22 October 2007. Archived from the original on 5 March 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
  6. ^ "Timonen Out with Blood Clot". Philadelphia Flyers. 8 May 2008. Archived from the original on 11 June 2008. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
  7. ^ "2010 Shorthanded goals". hockeyreference.com. 15 April 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  8. ^ "NHL 2011 Skaters". hockeyreference.com. 5 March 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  9. ^ "Flyers' Timonen has blood clots, team signs Del Zotto". USA Today. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  10. ^ "Flyers trade Kimmo Timonen to Blackhawks". CSN Philly. 27 February 2015. Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  11. ^ Mark Lazerus (21 March 2015). "Kimmo Timonen on playing 1,100 games: 'Usually means you're old'". Chicago Suntimes. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  12. ^ "Kimmo Timonen retires from NHL". CBC Sports. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  13. ^ Leahy, Sean (16 June 2015). "Kimmo Timonen ends 17-year NHL career as a Stanley Cup champion". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
  14. ^ a b YLE Urheiluruutu, 19 February 2016.
  15. ^ Obama talks to the Blackhawks in 2016
  16. ^ "2009-10 Philadelphia Flyers media guide" (PDF). Philadelphia Flyers. 1 October 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  17. ^ Smith, Lance (17 January 2017). "15 Recent Stanley Cup Winners That Are Out Of The League: Where Are They Now?". thesportster.com. Retrieved 14 June 2018. Along with being a family man, Kimmo owns several restaurants and nightclubs in his homeland.
  18. ^ "Kimmo Timonen IIHF:n Hall of Fame -kunniagalleriaan!". KalPa (in Finnish). 5 February 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  19. ^ Potts, Andy (29 May 2022). "Hall of Fame celebrates new recruits". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kimmo Timonen.
Preceded by Winner of the Matti Keinonen trophy
1996–97 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Nashville Predators captain
2006–07 		Succeeded by
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