VOORHEES, N.J. — It’s beginning to look as though Kimmo Timonen may get medical clearance from the Flyers to join the club this season.
For the first time, general manager Ron Hextall sounded optimistic and positive about his defenseman’s situation.
Timonen has been sidelined all season with blood clots in his legs. Clots discovered in his lungs last August are gone.
“I don’t have an update,” Hextall said, “but I’ll say this: Things are moving along. ... I would say we’re probably looking at days now where we’ll have something definitive.”
Asked whether things were moving in the right direction or wrong direction, Hextall smiled and replied, “I don’t know, we’ll see.”
Hextall has not been upbeat about this issue at all until now. Timonen wants to play and was in good spirits at Tuesday’s game.
On Jan. 21, Hextall announced the club needed more time and more discussion with various specialists to clear up some “gray areas” before it could make a final decision on whether Timonen would be permitted to return to the club.
Timonen has not been on the ice since last April’s playoffs.
“There’s a process with a number of things, and getting doctors together with trainers, Kimmo, the league,” Hextall said on Wednesday. “There’s a lot of different avenues we have to explore here.
“Dot all I’s, cross all the T’s. It’s going a little bit slower than I would have hoped and maybe even envisioned. I think he is still on medication a few more days.”
Timonen is still on the blood thinner Xarelto and can’t play as long as he is taking that drug.
Interestingly, Hextall admitted the Flyers' current positioning in the standings is a factor here. The Flyers are 10 points out of a wild-card playoff spot.
“Yeah, that’s going to come into play here, for sure,” Hextall replied.
There are cap consequences, too. Timonen’s $2 million salary is being used for long-term injury purposes. Hextall said the Flyers would need to clear cap space to add him to the roster.
NHLnumbers.com lists the Flyers as having roughly $1.47 million in cap space.
“That’s a space we’ve used all year for call-ups and stuff,” Hextall said. “There’s implications for sure.”