Kimmo Timonen is still going after his Stanley Cup dream with the Chicago Blackhawks this season, but next year, he wants back in Philadelphia. According to the Inquirer, Kimmo plans on coming back to the Flyers next season.
Timonen has planned all along to retire from playing after 2014-15, and since he’s been a healthy scratch of late, he’s probably thought how about how his playing career could already be over despite the fact that his team is in the Stanley Cup Final. That’s how we get this:
In the off-season, Timonen said he will contact GM Hexy about a potential job in the organization. He doesn’t want to coach next yr.#Flyers
— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) June 2, 2015
There will certainly be a job for a guy like Kimmo in this organization. But what job?
Kimmo could opt to return to his native Finland once his career is over, and if he does that, the only job that would really make sense would be some sort of European scout.
But if he stays in Philadelphia — which would also make sense since it’s been his home for a decade — that opens up all kind of options. He may not want to coach (yet?), but there are any number of player development jobs or even community relations jobs available to him. Timonen has a great hockey mind and is good at explaining concepts, but his Finnish accent is just thick enough to potentially preclude him from broadcasting jobs.
Either way, we all know the Flyers organization will welcome him back with open arms. He’s part of the family … forever.
