Timothy J. Kennedy (born April 30, 1986) is an American former professional ice hockey forward, who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, San Jose Sharks and the Phoenix Coyotes.
| Tim Kennedy | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
April 30, 1986 Buffalo, New York, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Buffalo Sabres Florida Panthers San Jose Sharks Phoenix Coyotes Neftkhimik Nizhnekamsk Jokerit Luleå HF | ||
| National team |
 United States | ||
| NHL draft |
181st overall, 2005 Washington Capitals | ||
| Playing career | 2008–2018 | ||
Playing career
editAmateur
editKennedy played several years of his youth career with the Buffalo Regals, where he led the team with future Michigan State University teammate Chris Mueller. He also attended Bishop Timon - St. Jude High School. He played for several years on the Western Division's hockey team in the Empire State Games where his teams won gold in 2002 and 2003. In 2003, Kennedy was offered a contract with the Ontario Hockey League, but declined because he would have been unable to play NCAA college hockey. He was later drafted by the Sioux City Musketeers, a team in the United States Hockey League. Kennedy was actively recruited by major college hockey programs including Colorado College, Ohio State, and Boston College, ultimately accepting a scholarship to Michigan State, where he was a member of 2007 NCAA Championship team. He contributed one goal in the championship game against Boston College and assisted Justin Abdelkader's game-winning goal.
Professional
editKennedy was drafted in the sixth round, 181st overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals but was traded to the Buffalo Sabres the same day in exchange for Buffalo's sixth-round draft pick in 2006 (Mathieu Perreault).
On June 1, 2008, Kennedy signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Sabres. He spent the beginning of the 2008–09 season playing for the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League (AHL). On December 27, 2008, the Sabres called him up from Portland, giving him the opportunity to play his first NHL game in his hometown in Buffalo. The game was a shoot-out win over the New York Islanders.
Kennedy played the entire 2009–10 season in Buffalo, scoring 10 goals and 16 assists, for 26 total points in 78 games in the regular season, plus 1 goal and 2 assists in 6 playoff games. Kennedy's entry-level contract expired at the end of the season, resulting in a contract dispute with the Sabres. In arbitration, Kennedy was awarded a $1,000,000 contract.[1] On August 2, the Sabres waived Kennedy.[2] Kennedy cleared waivers the next day, at which point Buffalo bought out Kennedy's contract for $333,333. The reported monetary difference between Kennedy's request and the Sabres' contract offer before arbitration was $50,000.[3]
On August 30, 2010, Kennedy signed a one-year contract with the New York Rangers for a reported $550,000. At the start of the season and no room on the Rangers roster, Kennedy was waived again, on October 5, and was then sent to the Rangers' AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, on October 13.[4] On February 26, 2011, Kennedy was traded by the Rangers along with a third round pick to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Bryan McCabe.[5]
On January 26, 2012, he was traded by Florida to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Sean Sullivan.[6]
The following year, on July 11, 2013, Kennedy signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way deal with the Phoenix Coyotes.[7] In the 2013–14 season, Kennedy appeared in 37 games for the Coyotes, his most in the NHL since 2010. As a depth forward, he contributed from the lower lines with 2 goals and 8 points.
On July 3, 2014, Kennedy continued his journeyman career by signing a one-year, two-way deal with the Washington Capitals, his original draft team.[8] He was assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears for the duration of the 2014–15 season, featuring in the AHL All-Star game and posting 59 points in 75 games.
On June 3, 2015, Kennedy signed a one-year contract with Russian club, HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for the 2015–16 season.[9] Kennedy described the experience in Nizhnekamsk as a poor fit for him; he was unable to adapt to the coaching regimen and the city's strict military environment, which prevented him from bringing his family to Russia, and partway through the 2015–16 KHL season, the club bought out his contract. He finished the season playing for Helsinki-based Jokerit, which he considered a much more pleasant experience; he intended to return to North America for the 2016–17 season, most likely in the AHL,[10] but eventually moved to Sweden, signing a one-year deal with Luleå HF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) on July 21, 2016.[11] On December 15, 2016, he parted ways with the club, due to a combination of injuries and the birth of his son back in the United States.[12] He was released from his contract in December 2016 and was claimed on waivers by the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. The Checkers, after conversing with Kennedy, then dropped their claim and allowed Kennedy to sign with the Rochester Americans, allowing him to be closer to his family.[13]
On October 5, 2017, after a successful try-out Kennedy was signed to a one-year AHL contract with the Binghamton Devils for the 2017–18 season.[14]
International play
editTim Kennedy was named to the Team USA roster for the 2010 World Championships in Germany. Team USA finished 13th out of 16 teams, with Kennedy scoring one goal and no assists in six games.
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2003–04 | Sioux City Musketeers | USHL | 56 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 42 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 2004–05 | Sioux City Musketeers | USHL | 54 | 30 | 31 | 61 | 112 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 18 | ||
| 2005–06 | Michigan State University | CCHA | 29 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Michigan State University | CCHA | 42 | 18 | 25 | 43 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Michigan State University | CCHA | 42 | 20 | 23 | 43 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Portland Pirates | AHL | 73 | 18 | 49 | 67 | 51 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2008–09 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 78 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 50 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2010–11 | Hartford Wolf Pack/CT Whale | AHL | 53 | 12 | 30 | 42 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 14 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | San Antonio Rampage | AHL | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 27 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Worcester Sharks | AHL | 35 | 10 | 21 | 31 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Worcester Sharks | AHL | 37 | 13 | 24 | 37 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 13 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2013–14 | Portland Pirates | AHL | 30 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 37 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 75 | 11 | 48 | 59 | 56 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 | ||
| 2015–16 | Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | KHL | 29 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Jokerit | KHL | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2016–17 | Luleå HF | SHL | 18 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 47 | 4 | 25 | 29 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Binghamton Devils | AHL | 60 | 4 | 29 | 33 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Stoney Creek Generals | ACH | 6 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 2019–20 | Brantford Blast | ACH | 8 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||
| AHL totals | 442 | 79 | 250 | 329 | 301 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | ||||
| NHL totals | 162 | 15 | 24 | 39 | 60 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | United States | WC | 13th | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Senior totals | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||||
Awards and honors
edit| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| College | ||
| All-NCAA All-Tournament Team | 2007 | [15] |
| All-CCHA Second team | 2008 | |
References
edit- ^ "Arbitrator awards Sabres' Kennedy $1M | CBC Sports". CBC. 29 July 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ "Sabres waive Kennedy after arbitration ruling - Sportsnet.ca". www.sportsnet.ca. SportsNet. 2 August 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ Mirtle, James (3 August 2010). "A new twist in NHL's arbitration plot". globeandmail.com. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- ^ "Rangers' Tim Kennedy is stuck in minors because of NHL's complicated waiver system". Nydailynews.com. 2011-02-26. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
- ^ "Panthers trade McCabe to Rangers for Kennedy, third-rounder". The Sports Network. 2011-02-26. Archived from the original on 2011-03-01. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
- ^ "Panthers Send Kennedy to Sharks for Sullivan". The Sports Network. 2012-01-26. Retrieved 2012-01-26.
- ^ "Coyotes sign center Kennedy to one-year contract". The Sports Network. 2013-07-11. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
- ^ "Capitals sign Tim Kennedy and Kris Newbury". MonumentalNetwork.com. 2014-07-04. Retrieved 2014-07-04.
- ^ "Nizhnekamsk has signed American forward" (in Russian). HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk. 2015-06-03. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
- ^ "Season in Russia became nightmare for South Buffalo's Tim Kennedy". Olean Times Herald. May 18, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
- ^ "Två nordamerikanska centrar till LHF". Retrieved 2016-07-21.
- ^ "Kennedy flyttar hem - Luleå Hockey". www.luleahockey.se. Retrieved 2016-12-16.
- ^ Hoppe, Bill (December 20, 2016). "South Buffalo's Tim Kennedy excited for fresh start with Amerks". Olean Times Herald. Retrieved 2016-12-20.
- ^ "Devils ink Kennedy to one-year deal, Erixon to PTO". Binghamton Devils. 2017-10-05. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
- ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database