Welcome to the Nashville Predators‘ All-Time 25 in 25. In this series, we at The Hockey Writers will unveil the top 25 players in franchise history in honor of the organization’s 25th anniversary. Starting Sept. 18, we will unveil a new player every day until the Predators’ home opener at Bridgestone Arena on Oct. 12. Join us along for the ride as we celebrate 25 years of hockey in Nashville. At 6 – Kimmo Timonen.
Predators Pre-Expansion Acquisition
Timonen is, by all accounts, an original Predator, although he wasn’t selected in the 1998 NHL Expansion Draft. The Los Angeles Kings sent Timonen and defenseman Jan Vopat to the Predators so they’d stay away from other players on their roster in the draft.
Forked over to protect other players the Kings saw as essential to their franchise, Timonen was motivated to prove his former team wrong from the onset of his Predators tenure. In the organization’s inaugural year, he split time playing with the Predators and their International Hockey League affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals. In his first season with the Predators, he scored 12 points in 50 NHL Games, flashing his star potential.
Timonen’s Career With The Predators
Timonen played eight seasons with the Predators. He emerged as the franchise’s first star player, often racking up points on the power play and guiding the offense from the blue line. He hit at least 40 points five times in his eight-year tenure and reached the 50-point mark twice. His best season came in 2006-07. Timonen tied his career-high in goals and set personal bests in assists and points, scoring 13 goals and 42 assists for 55 points in 80 games. He finished fifth in Norris Trophy voting for his efforts and was named to his third NHL All-Star team.
Along with his offensive capabilities, Timonen also showed outstanding leadership skills. The Predators named Timonen captain ahead of the 2006-07 season. Although he only captained the franchise for one season, getting traded in the summer of 2007.
In the Predators record book, Timonen is 10th in games played (573), 21st in goals (79), seventh in assists (222), and eighth in points (301). He finished fifth in Norris Trophy voting and was named to the NHL All-Star game three times as a member of the Predators.
Timonen’s Post-Predators Career
The Predators traded Timonen and forward Scott Hartnell to the Philadelphia Flyers for a 2007 first-round pick in the summer of 2007. The Predators drafted Jonathan Blum 23rd overall with the selection. Blum never amounted to much with the organization, appearing in only three NHL seasons with the club. Timonen immediately stepped into a leadership role with the Flyers, donning an ‘A’ on his sweater. While Timonen never reached the single-season point totals he had with the Predators, he helped the Flyers make the Stanley Cup Final in 2010.
The Flyers traded Timonen to the Chicago Blackhawks, the team he lost to in the Stanley Cup Final years prior, at the 2015 NHL Trade Deadline. Now far past his prime, Timonen took on a depth role with the Blackhawks. The Blackhawks, with Timonen, went on to win the 2015 Stanley Cup. Predators fans had to watch their former captain hoist the Stanley Cup while wearing a Blackhawks jersey. The moment is bittersweet for the Predators faithful – having to painfully watch a franchise legend accomplish hockey’s ultimate goal but burdened with the fact that it’s with their arch-rival.
Timonen played arguably his best years with the Predators, but it was after that that he found success. The original Predator was an offensive weapon, showed true leadership, and captained the organization for a brief stint. He was the face of the Predators in the mid-2000s and is the franchise’s first true star.
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