Flyers' Timonen eyeing return

SPECULATION around the Flyers is growing that defenseman Kimmo Timonen may return to the ice, after all, this season.

Timonen, 39, who has been on injured reserve this season due to blood clots, has maintained he would rather retire with his skates on than shoes. So far, after days of deliberation, doctors have not yet told him, or the Flyers, that he cannot resume his career.

The Flyers have consulted with multiple doctors and experts since CT scans revealed last Friday that one of the multiple blood clots discovered in his body in August has not yet been fully reabsorbed into his system. The lingering clot is in Timonen's leg, but his lungs appear to be clear, adding to the optimism.

No official determination has been made, according to general manager Ron Hextall, as all parties continue to weigh the risk. A final decision may not be made until after this weekend's All-Star Game in Columbus, Ohio.

"There's a lot of gray area with this whole thing," Hextall said. "There's a lot of questions to be asked here and we just want to make sure we're turning over every stone to get every piece of information to make sure we're making the right decision."

Ultimately, Hextall said, the call will come down to "a doctor's recommendation."

Hextall could not answer what would happen in the case of a split opinion between experts, or which doctor will have final say in the recommendation. Will a doctor on the Flyers' payroll make the call? Or will it be the recommendation of a hematologist, who specializes in blood and clotting?

In addition to Hextall and Timonen, it's a fair guess lawyers and the NHL's own medical team will have input on whether Timonen is fit to play.

"If his risk is a lot more than other players to sustain injury, then the decision is going to be easy," Hextall said. "In the end, it's going to be the doctor's call, but we have to feel comfortable with the doctor's assessment. [Timonen] wants to understand the risk, as well. I think he's been understanding of the fact that we want to be comfortable, we want to be satisfied that the risk is at a level we feel is appropriate or acceptable."

Timonen has been taking the blood-thinning medication Xarelto since August. With a now known Protein C deficiency, which makes him susceptible to clotting, it is unclear how doctors would mitigate Timonen's risk of future clots. In a contact sport such as hockey, Timonen would be at high risk for severe internal and external bleeding if he were to continue the medication.

Injections of anticoagulants such as Heparin or Lovenox, when timed properly, are allowed by the NHL. Theoretically, the half life of the drugs would mean the risk of bleeding would be minimized by game time.

It would not even be unprecedented. Former Rangers player Jed Ortmeyer continued playing with medication long after clots were discovered in his lungs in 2006. Current Panthers forward Tomas Fleischmann, 30, underwent surgery to have a blood-filtering device installed to prevent clots from traveling to his lungs or heart.

Both of those players were significantly younger than Timonen, however, with a lot less padding in their bank accounts. Timonen has earned north of $50 million and won four Olympic medals representing his native Finland.

"I really don't know at this point which way it's going to go," Hextall said. "I'm probably right in the middle right now. Is there a chance he plays? Yeah, there is, for sure. Is there a chance he's not going to play? I think that's real, as well."

Forward Zac Rinaldo waived his right to an in-person disciplinary hearing and instead will learn his fate on Monday in a 12:30 p.m. conference call.

Rinaldo, 24, was invited to NHL headquarters to plead his case in person, as required by the Collective Bargaining Agreement when the league expects to hand down a suspension exceeding five games. He was ejected from Tuesday's win over Pittsburgh for a vicious hit from behind on Kris Letang that saw the star defenseman's face bounce off the glass.

Letang, who has a history of concussions, did not play last night against Chicago.

A repeat offender, Rinaldo's looming suspension will cost him $9,146.34 for each game missed. He was banned four games last April following an illegal check to the head of Buffalo's Chad Ruhwedel.

"He feels horrible about what happened," Hextall said. "He's very upset about the whole situation. He's upset the player [was] hurt. The league will determine whether it was legal or illegal. From our standpoint, hitting is part of Zac's game and he needs to be a physical player. Obviously, he plays on the edge."

Starting goaltender Steve Mason has not yet begun skating, but is expected to continue rehabbing his "lower-body" injury today, according to Ron Hextall. Mason, who sat out the last six games before the All-Star break, is unlikely to start the first game back against Arizona on Tuesday.

"He won't have practiced in 4 or 5 days," Hextall said. "It's hard to believe he's going to be ready to play coming out of the break because he hasn't seen the puck."

Ron Hextall labeled rookie forward Scott Laughton, out since Jan. 14 with a suspected concussion, as "day-to-day" . . . Hextall said the Flyers "would likely stick with Ray [Emery] at this point," as the team's backup goalie once Steve Mason returns. It appeared Rob Zepp played himself into that conversation before Emery's 33-save performance vs. Pittsburgh . . . Defensemen Brandon Manning and Oliver Lauridsen were sent back to AHL Lehigh Valley in time for last night's game against Hershey.

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