Kimmo Timonen

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.

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 October 3, 2006, Timonen was named the captain of the Nashville Predators for the 2006–07 season. 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. 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.

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 May 8, 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.

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

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

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

Blood clots and Stanley Cup victory with the Chicago Blackhawks

In preparation for the 2014–15 season, on August 5, 2014, Timonen was diagnosed with blood clots in both of his lungs as well as in his right leg. 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 February 27, 2015. He left the Flyers organization as the third most productive defenseman in franchise history, with 270 points in 519 games. On March 21, 2015, he played in his 1,100th NHL game.

On March 5, Timonen announced his intent to retire from professional hockey after the 2014–15 season. On June 15, Timonen won his first Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in the final game of his 20-year career. 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.”

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

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

Personal life

Kimmo is married to Johanna Timonen and has three children — son Samuel and daughters Elle Amelie and Ava Fiona. Kimmo announced his retirement after winning the Stanley Cup in 2015 with the Blackhawks. Timonen owns several successful restaurants and nightclubs in his hometown of Kuopio.

Awards