Kimmo Timonen

Kimmo Timonen
Position	Defenceman
Shoots	Left
Height Weight	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 194 lb (88 kg)
NHL Team F. Teams	Philadelphia Flyers Nashville Predators
Nationality	Finnish
Born	(1975-03-18)March 18, 1975, Kuopio, FIN
NHL Draft	250th overall, 1993 Los Angeles Kings
Pro Career	1992 – present

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.

Timonen playing for the Flyers.

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)

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1991–92	KalPa	SM-l		5	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	KalPa	SM-l		33	0	2	2	4		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	KalPa	SM-l		46	6	7	13	55		—	—	—	—	—
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	Nashville Predators	NHL		50	4	8	12	30		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Milwaukee Admirals	IHL		29	2	13	15	22		—	—	—	—	—
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	Swiss-A		3	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Brynäs IF	SEL		10	5	3	8	8		—	—	—	—	—
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
NHL totals				730	90	298	388	452		35	1	12	13	38

International

Olympic medal record
Men's Ice Hockey
Silver	2006 Turin	Ice hockey
Bronze	1998 Nagano	Ice hockey

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1993	Finland	WJC		7	2	0	2	6
1993	Finland	EJC		6	2	2	4	2
1994	Finland	WJC		7	3	3	6	4
1995	Finland	WJC		7	2	6	8	4
1996	Finland	WC		6	0	1	1	0
1998	Finland	Oly		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	Oly		4	0	1	1	2
2002	Finland	WC		9	1	2	3	8
2003	Finland	WC		7	2	5	7	2
2004	Finland	WCup		6	1	5	6	2
2005	Finland	WC		6	2	1	3	6
2006	Finland	Oly		8	1	4	5	2
Senior int'l totals				81	12	32	44	44
Junior int'l totals				27	9	11	20	16

External links

• Kimmo Timonen's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Kimmo Timonen's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Kimmo Timonen's NHL player profile
• Kimmo Timonen on nhlfinns.com

This article is part of the Finnish hockey portal