TIMONEN DIAGNOSED WITH BLOOD CLOTS, FLYERS SIGN DEL ZOTTO
The Flyers announced horrible news on Tuesday. Veteran defenseman Kimmo Timonen is hospitalized in Finland with blood clots in both of his lungs and his lower right leg. The good news is that the player is in stable condition and should be released from the hospital soon. The bad news is that is unclear if and when the 39-year-old assistant will be able to play hockey again.
"It's been crazy few days. It went from a pulled calf muscle to life threatening. I will be fine but it will take a long time," Timonen wrote via email.
Earlier this off-season, the Flyers signed Timonen to a one-year contract extension at a $2 million base salary with a maximum $1.5 million in incentives. He is likely to be placed on long-term injured reserve unless his condition necessitates his retirement (which would not count against the Flyers' salary cap figure because it is a one-year contract and is not subject to the over-35 contract rules).
Those decisions remain to be seen. Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said in a media conference call earlier today that Timonen is expected to return to the Philadelphia area in a few weeks when he is cleared to travel. He will be re-evaluated at that time.
During the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs, Timonen sustained a blood clot in one of his feet. He missed much of the Eastern Conference Finals -- a series the Flyers lost in five games to the Pittsburgh Penguins -- but returned before the end of the series.
The current situation was much more dangerous. Timonen had a pulmonary embolism. Thankfully, his long-term prognosis is good.
There is no two ways about it: The Flyers are going to miss Timonen. Even in decline due to deteriorating health and advancing age, he was still the team's best all-around defenseman. There is no replacing the five-time Barry Ashbee Trophy winner's savvy and leadership, although fellow veteran Mark Streit has some of the same traits. Timonen's illness also means that Streit is now a shoo-in to take the Finn's spot on the first power play unit.
During the conference call, Hextall indicated that efforts to add a veteran defensenan would be "expedited", as the team did not want to put the burden on any of its rookie prospects to try to fill the void. A few hours later, the club announced a signing.
The Flyers have signed unrestricted free agent defenseman Michael Del Zotto to a one-year, $1.3 million contract.Two years ago, Del Zotto was considered one of the NHL's fastest-rising young offensive-minded defenseman. Since that time, his stock has fallen off a cliff.
Within the past season, the Rangers sold low in trading Del Zotto to Nashville for veteran defensive defenseman Kevin Klein. Then the Predators declined to offer Del Zotto a qualifying offer. Thus, the 24-year-old became an unrestricted free agent. That move was rather surprising in a league where defensemen in general come at a premium and established young veterans in particular are rarely simply turned loose.
The deal that Del Zotto signed with the Flyers is basically a bargain "re-prove yourself" contract not all that different from the one goaltender Steve Mason played on last season prior to signing a multi-year extension at a big raise. It will be up to Del Zotto to get his once-promising career back on track.
Del Zotto has never been a great player in his own end of the ice. He made strides in New York under John Tortorella's stern direction but then backslid in all areas of his game the last two seasons. Additionally, it is unrealistic to expect him to play the same all-situations role that Timonen did and see significant ice time against top opposing forwards. He will probably get second unit power play duty to start, and play on the second or third pairing at even strength.
**********
WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP PROSPECT UPDATES
* Flyers 2013 first-round draft pick Samuel Morin was in the lineup for Team Canada in Tuesday night's 6-2 victory over the Czech Republic at the National Junior Team Summer Development Camp in Montreal. Morin did not record a point in the game but played a strong all-around game. The game can be
watched in its entirety for free at the official Hockey Canada website.
* Travis Sanheim, the Flyers 2014 first-round pick, did not dress for the Canada-Czech Republic game. He may dress in at least one of Canada's upcoming games against Russia. Flyers' 2014 sixth-round pick Radel Fazleev skates on Russia's fourth line. The Canadians will square off with the Russians both tonight and tomorrow in Sherbrooke, Que. Game time is 7 p.m. EDT. Both matches will be streamed for free at the Hockey Canada site.
* Tuesday was a day off at the National Junior Team Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid, NY. Today at 4 p.m., Team USA will face off against Sweden, featuring Flyers 2013 second-round pick Robert Hägg and 2014 fifth-round pick Oskar Lindblom. Previously, the Swedes beat both halves of an American split squad, downing USA White by a 4-3 score and then blowing out USA Blue by a 6-2 count. The American roster is now combined into a single unit featuring standouts from the split squads. Today's match will be streamed live on Fasthockey.com. The cost for stream access is $7.99.
***********
TODAY IN FLYERS HISTORY: AUGUST 6
* 1975: The Flyers sign 1975 third-round draft pick Bob Ritchie to a professional contract. A high-scoring left winger in the QMJHL, Ritchie went to dress in one NHL game for the Flyers during the 1976-77 season; a 7-5 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 5, 1977. He was subsequently traded to the Detroit Red Wings on Feb. 17, dressing in 17 late-season games for the Wings. He appeared in 11 NHL games for Detroit the following season. In his 29 total NHL games, Ritchie notched eight goals and 12 points.
* 1975: The Flyers sign undrafted free agent forward Dave Kelly to a professional contract. A big and strong winger who was a two-way standout at Providence College, Kelly was strictly a checker at the pro level. He never appeared in a regular season game for the Flyers but played 16 NHL games for Detroit in 1976-77. Later, Kelly returned to Philadelphia to play at the AHL level for the Firebirds when the club was a Colorado Rockies affiliate.
* 1991: The Flyers sign free agent left winger Brad Jones to a one-year contract. A forward with blazing speed -- he was arguably one of the fastest-skating players in the NHL -- Jones struggled to do enough other things well to stake down a long-term NHL job. The former University of Michigan star shuttled between the NHL and AHL while a member of the Winnipeg Jets and then was a frequent scratch for the Los Angeles Kings under coach Tom Webster. Enamored of Jones' speed, Flyers general manager Russ Farwell signed the player in the hopes he could be part of a more skating-oriented roster that the club was trying to build at the time. In 48 games for the Flyers in 1991-92, Jones recorded seven goals and 17 points.
* 1996: The Flyers sign unrestricted free agent defenseman John Stevens to a contract. Originally a third-round pick of the Flyers in the 1984 NHL Draft, Stevens appeared in nine games for the big club over parts of the 1986-87 and 1987-88 seasons. After a tour of duty in the Hartford Whalers organization, Stevens returned to the Flyers' fold in 1996. He did not play in any additional NHL games but was a key team leader on the Philadelphia Phantoms team that won the Calder Cup championship in 1997-98. A serious eye injury the next season ended his playing career. Stevens then embarked on an assistant and head coaching career that saw him coach the Phantoms to their second Calder Cup championship in 2004-05 and serve as Flyers head coach from early in the 2006-07 season to December of the 2009-10 season. Stevens subsequently moved on to the Los Angeles Kings.
* 1997: The Flyers promote Paul Holmgren from director of pro scouting to director of player personnel. He would go on to become assistant general manager (1999-2000 season to early in the 2006-07 season), general manager (2006-07 to 2013-14), and club president (current).
* 1998: The Flyers trade the rights to unsigned goaltender Johan Hedberg to the San Jose Sharks for a 1999 seventh-round pick (Pavel Kasparik). Hedberg went on a lengthy NHL career as a split-time starter and backup for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks, Dallas Stars, Atlanta Thrashers and New Jersey Devils. He is now a goaltending consultant for the Devils. Kasparik, who is still active, never played in an NHL game but has had a successful career in the Czech Extraliga and occasionally played for the Czech national team.
* 2004: The Flyers sign center Michal Handzus to a three-year contract extension ahead of the impending lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season. Handzus was coming off a 20-goal, 58-point season for Ken Hitchcock's club that fell one win short of reaching the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
Join the Discussion:
»