The fans were chanting, “Kimmo, Kimmo” as former Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen emerged from the players' tunnel onto the ice.
“I wanted to take my jacket off and raise my hands really high, but I’m not that flexible anymore,” Timonen laughed, meeting with the media between periods of his brief retirement ceremony on Tuesday night prior to the Flyers-Blackhawks game.
Timonen hung up his skates after finally winning the Stanley Cup with Chicago last June after 16 years in the NHL.
Tuesday night, he did the ceremonial puck drop between captains Jonathan Toews and Claude Giroux but did not give a speech.
During the first period, longtime teammate Scott Hartnell appeared on the Jumbotron with his own personal tribute to a man he called the “best friend” he’s ever had.
Timonen was deeply touched by Hartnell, who had been his roommate in both Nashville and Philadelphia.
The two were so close, Timonen appeared in Columbus for Hartnell’s 1,000th game last season because he was still recovering from blood clots and not playing.
“We played so many years together, were roommates for eight years,” Timonen said. “We were traded at the same time to the same team as best friends. There’s not many stories like that in the NHL.
“He had his 1,000th game and [I] had a chance to go there … The way he spoke tonight, we’re best buddies. There’s not much you can tell except I love him and he’ll be my best friend forever.”
Former blue line partner Braydon Coburn gave him a video tribute, as well.
There were video snippets of him during NBC television timeouts, as well, to entertain the crowd.
“I always tried to be the same person,” Timonen said of his legacy. “The way I prepare for the game, I expected that from every player, doesn’t matter to me whether first year, 10 years … whatever. Sometimes it’s hard. You can’t expect people to play the same way, same effort.”
Timonen called Toews “my top one of two captains” he had been associated with.
As for the future, he said he doesn’t have to stick to a strict diet anymore.
“The reality is, I'm 40 years old and I just had a glass of red wine,” he said. “Can't really turn that down anymore.”