Kimmo Timonen

Kimmo Timonen (born March 18, 1975) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman who plays for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is an alternate captain with the Flyers.

Playing career
Timonen was the youngest player to represent 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 10th 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 in agreement that Nashville would not select Garry Galley in the 1998 NHL Expansion Draft.

During the 1998–99 NHL season, Timonen split time between the 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 fellow 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 with him registering career highs in both assists and total points.

Following the 2006–07 season, Timonen was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. Shortly after, he signed a six-year, $37.8 million contract extention 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 AHL affiliate. However, Jussi was subsequently traded to the Dallas Stars early in the 2007–08 season.

After beating the Capitals 4-3 and the Canadiens 4-1 in the first two rounds of the playoffs, Timonen's first playoff run with the Flyers was put on hold after a visit to the doctor; Timonen got hit by a wrist shot at his foot on April 30, 2008, by Montreal Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov. Timonen felt numbness in his foot as the week went along and thought it was nothing but a twisted nerve. After an MRI failed to reveal anything, Timonen had the foot examined at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. However on May 8, 2008, the doctor found a small blood clot in Timonen's foot. Timonen 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 lost the game and their playoff run came to an end.

Awards

 * 1997- Matti Keinonen trophy for best +/- in the SM-liiga
 * 2000- Named to the NHL All-Star team, but unable to play due to injury
 * 2004- Played in NHL All-Star game
 * 2005- Elected most valuable player in the Mestis playoffs
 * 2007- Played in NHL All Star Game
 * 2008- Named to the NHL All-Star team

Records

 * Nashville Predators' franchise record for career assists (222)