NFL Tickets
The one good thing about the Philadelphia Flyers‘ lackluster defense is the veteran presence of 38-year-old Kimmo Timonen. Timonen has found a lot of success in his past 15 years in the NHL and has become a staple to the Flyers franchise since being traded by the Nashville Predators in a package deal with Scott Hartnell.
Timonen — like the rest of the defense on the team — has faced a lot of criticism after this past season’s disappointment. However, fans have to also take in consideration that the veteran is on the verge of retirement. As one of the stronger defenseman on the team, at 38 Timonen is still getting a lot of ice time. His ice time combined with his age and injuries is why he has struggled a lot in recent years.
With that in mind, is it time for Timonen to finally retire?
The veteran has hinted a few years ago that the 2013-2014 season would be his last, and it’s looking more apparent that this really could be his last one. Mostly because Timonen has expressed the idea himself. Flyers inside reporter Anthony Sanfilippo spoke to the defenseman last week and it was pretty clear that he could be retiring at the end of next season.
“I’m not saying this is 100 percent my last year,” Timonen said last week,” but it could be. It’s definitely pretty close to the end.”
It’s looks pretty certain that Timonen is ready to end his career as a player, but we won’t know for sure until the season begins. If Timonen is plagued by injuries again this season it will almost guarantee his retirement.
The possibility of Timonen’s retirement also means that the Flyers really need to do something about their defense like going after Mark Streit or Keith Yandle during free agency. They also need to consider their draft options for the end of the month.
Deanna Vasso is a Flyers writer for www.rantsports.com, you can follow her on Twitter, like her on Facebook and join her Google network.
Share 
