Nashville Predators: Top-Five Defenseman in Franchise History
By Rich Howe
4. Kimmo Timonen (1998-2007)
Kimmo Timonen, a late-round pick by the LA Kings in the 1993 NHL Draft, spent eight seasons in Nashville. He was a major piece of the early days of the franchise when the expansion rules aren’t as kind as they are now.
Timonen joined the Predators for their inaugural season in 1998. The Predators named him captain before the 2006-07 season, which turned out to be his last year in Nashville. That was also the best season of his career.
It’s important to remember the early days of the Predators franchise when just making the playoffs was an enormous feat. The team didn’t have hardly any stars, but Timonen was certainly one of them.
Timonen scored 55 points (13 goals, 42 assists) in his final season with the Predators and finished 5th in the Norris Trophy voting that year in 2007.
This stat may surprise some of you, but Timonen still sits at No.2 on the Predators all-time list for power play goals with 46. But Filip Forsberg is about to pass him by on that one this upcoming season.
In 573 career games with Nashville, Timonen had 79 goals and 222 assists. You just can’t overlook his leadership on those early teams. Until Shea Weber arrived, Timonen was the franchise’s top defenseman.
Timonen, one of the Predators’ first defenseman, enjoyed a long career in the NHL, which also included a Stanley Cup win with the Chicago Blackhawks just before his retirement.