Kimmo Timonen will make his first post-playing career foray into the hockey world this fall when he joins Team Finland as a member of their staff for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. The tournament will be played in late September in Toronto.
Look at this staff, via Juha Hiitelä. It’s unbelievably star-studded:
- General manager: Jere Lehtinen
- Asst. general manager: Jarmo Kekäläinen
- Head coach: Lauri Marjamaki
- Asst. coaches: Teppo Numminen, Waltteri Immonen, Kalle Kaskinen
- Goalie coach: Ari Hilli
- Advisor to coaching: Saku Koivu
- Advisor to team management: Teemu Selanne
- Advisor / scout: Kimmo Timonen
- Team leader / media manager: Jukka Lohva/
Come on, Finland. That’s a little much, is it not?
Could Flyers be Kimmo’s next stop?
Anyway, remember when Kimmo retired last year and he said he was going to take some time off from hockey, but that sooner than later he’d like to get back into it — preferably helping to bring the Stanley Cup back to Philly?
Here’s what he said back in October when he was honored by the team. Emphasis is ours.
“I had a great time here in Philly,” Timonen said. “Hopefully down the road I can do that for this team to help get to the playoffs and win the Stanley Cup. I wish that everybody could get a chance to win it because it’s something special.
“An ideal job would be some kind of coach because I like to talk to the players,” Kimmo said. “I like to share my information, I like to teach people, I like to tell my opinion about almost anything. But in hockey that would be ideal because I like to tell these players what I see and what they can do better. That is a coaching job.”
“Right now, it takes too much time,” he continued. “It’s the first time in my life I can actually enjoy my time. I want to spend time with my family and so on. That would be a perfect job but that’s obviously down the road. Right now I’m going to take it easy and hopefully 3 or 6 months, I know with my personality I need to do something. I can’t just sit still. We will see what kind of role I do and how I could help the team. That’s down the road.”
He’s making his first stab at an off-ice role here with Team Finland. Might he soon be picking up the phone and giving a call to Ron Hextall, too? If there’s a spot for him in Philadelphia — and it’s Kimmo Timonen, of course there’s a spot for him in Philadelphia — I’m sure he’d be welcomed back with open arms.
