Timonen's hockey career ended on the ultimate high -- skating around the ice with the Stanley Cup after the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final.

It was Chicago's third championship in six seasons, but the only one in Timonen's 16 NHL seasons. The 40-year-old defenseman retired soon afterward.

The Los Angeles Kings selected Timonen in the 10th round (No. 250) of the 1993 NHL Draft. But the native of Kuopio, Finland, continued to play in his home country through the 1997-98 season. By then, he'd been traded to the expansion Nashville Predators.

Timonen opted to come to North America for the 1998-99 season and soon became a fixture on Nashville's defense. He scored at least 11 goals five times in six seasons from 2000-01 through 2006-07, when he also scored his single-season NHL high of 55 points.

The Predators traded Timonen to the Philadelphia Flyers on June 18, 2007. He never reached double figures in goals again but was a consistent offensive contributor and helped the Flyers advance to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final, when they lost to the Blackhawks in six games.

Timonen scored his 100th NHL goal against the Buffalo Sabres on March 5, 2011, his 500th point (an assist) against the New York Islanders on March 1, 2012, and played his 1,000th NHL game against the Lightning on March 18, 2013, his 37th birthday. He was diagnosed with blood clots in his lungs and right leg Aug. 5, 2014. He recovered before the 2015 NHL Trade Deadline and was traded to the Blackhawks on Feb. 27, 2015.

He had no points in 16 regular-season games and 18 Stanley Cup Playoff games but was a useful third-pair defenseman and went out as a Stanley Cup champion when Chicago defeated Tampa Bay 2-0 in Game 6 of the Cup Final. Timonen was the first player to receive the Cup from Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews.

He ended his NHL career with 571 points (117 goals, 454 assists) in 1,108 regular-season games, and 35 points (four goals, 31 assists) in 105 playoff games.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

• Olympic All-Star Team (2006)
• Played in NHL All-Star Game (2004, 2007, 2008, 2012)
• Traded to Nashville by Los Angeles with Jan Vopat for future considerations, June 26, 1998.
• Signed as a free agent by Lugano (Swiss), October 31, 2004.
• Signed as a free agent by Gavle (Sweden), November 8, 2004.
• Signed as a free agent by Kuopio (Finland-2), January 3, 2005.
• Traded to Philadelphia by Nashville with Scott Hartnell for Nashville's 1st round pick (previously acquired, Nashville selected Jonathon Blum) in 2007 NHL Draft, June 18, 2007.
• Traded to Chicago by Philadelphia for Chicago's 2nd round pick (later traded to Toronto, Toronto selected Jeremy Bracco) in 2015 NHL Draft and Chicago's 2nd round pick (Wade Allison) in 2016 NHL Draft, February 27, 2015.
• Officially announced his retirement, June 16, 2015.