Flyers to get update on Kimmo Timonen

VOORHEES, N.J. - For as helpless as Philadelphia Flyers GM Ron Hextall felt at the beginning of the month when he found out his best defenseman was stuck in another country with blood clots in his leg and both lungs, he was much more subdued Tuesday.

That's because Kimmo Timonen was en route back to the United States after he learned of the scary diagnosis a couple weeks earlier in his native Finland. Doctors wouldn't allow him to get on an airplane for a couple weeks because of the clots.

The 39-year-old defenseman, who signed a one-year extension in June, probably never will play hockey again, although no one will say it just yet.

For now, Hextall is planning on Timonen not being around. He's still anxiously waiting for the team doctors to take a look at the four-time All-Star and veteran of 15 seasons.

Doctors in Finland reportedly diagnosed Timonen with "protein C deficiency," a disorder that can be inherited or developed and sometimes leads to blood clots.

Timonen's clots were found when he thought he pulled a muscle in his leg and a friend recommended he go to the hospital.

"We haven't had a chance to look at him yet," Hextall said, "but there's something going on there."

There's certainly reason to be concerned about Timonen's hockey career, but his long-term health off the ice is not an issue in Hextall's eyes.

"Everything we've heard it's all good news and things are going in the right direction," the first-year general manager said. "We should know more in the next little while here."

If protein C deficiency is indeed the correct diagnosis, it's a scary sounding one.

The disorder can lead to a type of blood clot known as deep vein thrombosis in arms and legs. According to the National Institutes of Health, a mild case of protein C deficiency affects 1 in 500 people. Severe cases usually affect 1 in 4 million newborns causing "infants (to) develop a life-threatening blood clotting disorder called purpura fulminans soon after birth."

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When Timonen's blood clots became known, Hextall brought Michael Del Zotto in on a one-year, $1.3 million contract. The 24-year-old blueliner won't be a player-for-player replacement, but he was among the finalists for the Calder Trophy in his first year and finished 12th in Norris Trophy voting two years later.

"He can really move the puck," Hextall said. "He's got a lot of offensive skills. We've picked up something there that you could argue we were missing a little bit of. I like our mix. I really do. Maybe not the top guy, but 1-7 I like our D."

Dave Isaac writes for the (Cherry Hill, N.J.) Courier-Post