Timonen, Flyers sign pact
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
Timonen, Flyers sign pact
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
UPDATE: The Flyers announced before Thursday's game that they had signed Timonen.
The Flyers will sign veteran defenseman Kimmo Timonen to a one-year, $6 million extension in the next few days, a league source confirmed Wednesday night.
Timonen, who will turn 38 next month, would have been eligible to become an unrestricted free agent in July. He has a $6.3 million cap hit this season.
The signing is somewhat surprising because it would mean the Flyers have already committed about $62.1 million on just 19 players --including the injured Chris Pronger -- toward next year's $64.3 million cap.
Excluding Pronger, they will have about $23 milion committed to seven defensemen for 2013-14.
They will also have an option of using an amnesty buyout on up to two players.
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Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter @BroadStBull.
- Can't lose Carle, seriously???
— Handsome B. Wonderful - I love Kimmo but 6 mil for a 38-39 yr old d man who has been showing signs of wearing down for a couple years now? 3-4 mil a year is a good signing, but 6 mil is overpayment. I think it's safe to say Briere has become the most likely candidate for an amnesty buyout now.— Fly Guy
- The $6 million is not simply based on Timonen's projected output for next season, as he is clearly in decline although still a steady and smart defenseman. Rather, I believe part of the seemingly excessive amount is a way of saying "thanks" to Kimmo for being an excellent team player and positive influence for so many years. As next season will likely be Timonen's final season before retirement, it's a classy move by Homer, though it may end up putting him in a bind salary cap wise.— scribbles
- Length (one year) is right, but 6m a little too steep. Should have been more like 4 - 5m— Ernie D
- I like Timonen and I think he still our best d-men but I was hoping for some home discount. 6M is a bit much.— Nitroglycerin
- Agree with most posters. $6 million is too much. Carchidi is probably hearing it from Kimmo's agent. I bet it will be less than that.— mikeyhigs
- I can't believe they're extending Timmonen. I liked Timmonen all along; thought he was a real good player, but he's too old now. I don't get it.— dundermifflin
- What... don't... you... get???
He is our best d-men, without him we are lost. The price of puck moving d-men does not go down. Timonen would be the best available UFA d-men next year. Freaking Wideman and Carle got 5.5M a year.— Nitroglycerin - dont make sense, good solid player but long season really wears him down our future is youth.— bigtom blew3
Why can't any Philly team make a well thought out signing. It seems like they all hire these over the hill players for big money. None of them ever pan out. Oh well. I am use to it now.— pritter
I think it's time for Holmgren to go. We have no defense, no scoring, we are old and the team is constantly up against the cap.- This is the best thing to happen to the Flyers this season. Hopefully the Flyers will retool to give Timo a shot at the Cup next year. Worth every penny.— snipesmorris
- In the context of next year, as in who is NOT going to be here, from a payroll perspective I do not think it hurts the Flyers much. Also they are also probably thinking about Matt Carle and how much he got on the open market (which I am sure surprised the Flyers). So maybe this is insurance in case other D men get injured or more scarce at the end of this season. In the end, 6 MM is peanuts for Snyder, really.— Poppys
- The cap figures here got me thinking...and this may be a dumb idea, but would it be possible to "buyout" Bryzgalov and then resign him to a league minimum? This way he would basically get his money, but the Flyers could significantly reduce his cap hit. There'd obviously need to be buy in from all parties, but I wonder if it's feasible?— Hextall_27
- maybe they are still thinking of Weber..hoping the Preds will trade or buy him out in the summer. Timmo and Weber will back together as a great pairing. I just think their biggest need in to replace Pronger.— CanadianFlyer
