The defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks came to Philadelphia on Wednesday night, making it a perfect night for the Flyers to pay tribute to recently retired defenseman Kimmo Timonen.
Timonen spent the last eight seasons (more or less, if you include being on IR most of last season) of his 16-season, 1,108-game career playing for the Flyers, until, after missing the majority of the 2014-15 season with blood clots, he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for one last shot at his first Stanley Cup championship.
He wasn’t terribly effective in Chicago, but finally got that hard earned hoist on the final day of the season. Whether or not he was great for Chicago is slightly immaterial to how good it felt for most to see a player who has been as great as he was, for as long as he was, finally get his ultimate on-ice reward.
In Wednesday’s ceremony at Wells Fargo Center, Timonen was given a video tribute from the team he’s most closely associated with. Watch that video below.
Timonen also did a ceremonial puck drop between the last two captains he played under: Claude Giroux and Jonathan Toews.
Watch the puck drop below.
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