March 01--Kimmo Timonen is 39 and has played in the NHL since 1998.
So over the summer when Timonen was back in his home country of Finland and in a hospital being treated for blood clots in his lungs and his right calf, it would have been easy for him to call it a career facing such a health scare.
But as Timonen consulted with doctor after doctor, he wasn't about to quit hockey without getting one last chance to win a Stanley Cup. Now, Timonen has it after the Blackhawks traded two draft picks, a second-round selection in the 2015 entry draft and a conditional fourth-rounder in 2016, to acquire him from the Flyers.
"Let's say I won a Stanley Cup before, I probably wouldn't be talking to you guys right now," Timonen said Friday night on a conference call with reporters. "That's the only goal (and) why I'm still trying. That's the only thing that's pushing me to work hard. It wasn't easy to work out six months to get on the ice. It was hard work, but it was easy at the same time because I haven't won it.
"It wasn't the money, it wasn't anything else. It's just to get in the playoffs and have a chance to win it."
Timonen said it was hard to leave the Flyers, for whom he played since 2007, but their playoff prospects are not as secure as those of the Hawks. If Timonen was going to play again, he wanted to be sure he would be playing playoff hockey this season. He was in regular communication with Flyers general manager Ron Hextall about the evolving trade market over the last few weeks.
"I know the Flyers are really close to the playoffs now (six points out of wild card entering Saturday) and they have a really good chance to make it but I couldn't get my mind off Chicago and the Blackhawks because of that team, the past and how they've done it," Timonen said.
Timonen had been skating with the Flyers in recent weeks and is close to making his return to action. It could come Monday against the Hurricanes at the United Center.
Timonen said he would need a few games to get back into solid playing shape, but once he does Hextall said the Hawks will get what they need, another impact player on the blue line.
But Timonen comes at a high price. Hextall said the conditional fourth-round pick in 2016 becomes a third-round selection if the Hawks reach the Western Conference finals, a second-round pick if the Hawks reach the Stanley Cup Final and Timonen plays in half of the games.
"It's fair for Chicago, it's fair for us," Hextall said. "There's a lot of upside to this deal for them. In the end they may have underpaid by a long shot for this deal. There's some risk obviously on their side; he hasn't played all year. But there's so much upside as well. If Kimmo had played all year and we would have moved him right now, this wouldn't have been the return. I believe it would have been far greater than this."
Hextall said doctors for both teams looked into Timonen's medical condition and are comfortable he's healthy enough to resume playing.
"First I didn't realize how serious this situation was," Timonen said. "Then, (the doctors) keep saying that you're going to be fine. You just have to be on this medicine for six months, that's mandatory. When that medicine is done you can return to normal life."
But when Timonen's season is over, he hopes the ending differs from the norm.
"I always wanted to retire (in Philadelphia) but, again, my goal was to win the Stanley Cup, get in the playoffs," Timonen said. "I feel like this is the right move."
chine@tribpub.com
