Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Going out on top

07/22/2015 at 10:55am EDT

From ESPN's Katie Strang:

Kimmo Timonen finally got his day with the Stanley Cup on Tuesday, as he brought the prized trophy to his hometown of Kuopio, Finland, to a parade of more than 10,000 well-wishers. It was a momentous occasion, symbolic of the long journey for the veteran defenseman, who sealed his career with the ultimate prize after 16 NHL seasons. Almost his entire 2014-15 season was derailed by blood clots, a harrowing medical situation that threatened to end his playing days prematurely, but after being traded from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Chicago Blackhawks in February, he eventually recovered to appear in 16 regular-season games and 18 games in the postseason. His last was Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals, when the Blackhawks beat the Tampa Bay Lightning to win the team’s third Cup in six seasons. It was Timonen’s first, however, and afterward, he did not hesitate about his future. While on the ice while celebrating with the Cup, he announced his intentions to hang up the skates.

He retired as a Stanley Cup champion. Is there any better way to go out? Here are five other players since 2000-01 who also played more than 1,000 NHL games and chose to leave the game in the same fashion.

Strang continues...

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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