Kimmo Timonen

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

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

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

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

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

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

Regular season and playoffs

				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

Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing   Finland
Winter Olympics
	2006 Turin
	1998 Nagano
	2010 Vancouver
	2014 Sochi
World Cup
	2004 Toronto
World Championships
	1998 Switzerland
	1999 Norway
	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			6	0	1	1	2
1998	Finland	WC			10	2	6	8	4
1999	Finland	WC			10	1	4	5	6
2001	Finland	WC			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			6	1	5	6	2
2005	Finland	WC	7th		6	2	1	3	6
2006	Finland	OG			8	1	4	5	2
2010	Finland	OG			6	2	2	4	2
2014	Finland	OG			6	0	2	2	0
Junior totals					31	9	11	20	16
Senior totals					93	14	36	50	46

Awards

• 1994 - First Team All-Star selection at the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
• 1997 - Matti Keinonen trophy for best +/- in the SM-liiga
• Two-time Kanada-malja champion - 1995, 1998 (TPS and HIFK)
• 2005 - Elected most valuable player in the Mestis playoffs
• 2005 - Mestis champion (KalPa)
• Named to NHL All-Star Game: 2000 (unable to play due to injury), 2004, 2007, 2008, 2012
• Five-time Barry Ashbee Trophy winner as Philadelphia Flyers best defenseman – 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014
• 2015 - Stanley Cup champion (Chicago Blackhawks)
• KalPa #44 jersey retired 2016
• 2020 IIHF Hall of Fame inductee. ^[18] The induction ceremony was scheduled during the 2020 IIHF World Championship, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The IIHF Hall of Fame class of 2020/2022 was inducted during the 2022 IIHF World Championship. ^[19]

See also

• List of NHL players with 1,000 games played

References

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. 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.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Eurohockey.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database
• The President Welcomes the Chicago Blackhawks, 2015 Stanley Cup Champions — Barack Obaman makes a special mention of Timonen at the White House at 4:14, YouTube.

Preceded by Petri Varis	Winner of the Matti Keinonen trophy 1996–97	Succeeded by Olli Jokinen
Preceded by Greg Johnson	Nashville Predators captain 2006–07	Succeeded by Jason Arnott