Timothy J. Kennedy (born April 30, 1986) is an American former professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
, who played in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
(NHL) with the
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...
,
Florida Panthers,
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...
and the
Phoenix Coyotes.
Playing career
Amateur
Kennedy 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
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
. He played for several years on the Western Division's hockey team in the
Empire State Games
The Empire State Games are a set of annual Olympic-style competitions for amateur athletes from the state of New York, encompassing several divisions and allowing athletes of all ages to compete. It was a member of the National Congress of State ...
where his teams won gold in 2002 and 2003. In 2003, Kennedy was offered a contract with the
Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...
, but declined because he would have been unable to play
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
college hockey
College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America.
In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...
. He was later drafted by the
Sioux City Musketeers, a team in the
United States Hockey League
The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictl ...
. Kennedy was actively recruited by major college hockey programs including
Colorado College
Colorado College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approxi ...
,
Ohio State
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
, 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
Justin Abdelkader (; born February 25, 1987) is an American professional ice hockey left winger for EV Zug of the National League (NL). He was drafted 42nd overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. He previously played for ...
's game-winning goal.
Professional
Kennedy was drafted in the sixth round, 181st overall, in the
2005 NHL Entry Draft
The 2005 NHL Entry Draft was the 43rd NHL Entry Draft. Originally scheduled to be held on June 25, the 2004–05 NHL lockout led to the draft being postponed to July 30.
Special procedures were required to determine the order of picks, because ...
by the
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...
but was traded to the
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...
the same day in exchange for Buffalo's sixth-round draft pick in 2006 (
Mathieu Perreault
Mathieu Perreault (born January 5, 1988) is a Canadian former ice hockey winger. He played for the Washington Capitals, Anaheim Ducks, Winnipeg Jets and Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL), and for HIFK of the SM-liiga (SM- ...
).
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
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...
(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. On August 2, the Sabres
waived
A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege.
Regulatory agencies of state departments or the federal government may issue waivers to exempt companies from certain regulations. For example, a United St ...
Kennedy. 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.
On August 30, 2010, Kennedy signed a one-year contract with the
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
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. 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
Bryan McCabe (born June 8, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in over 1,000 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) playing for the New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple ...
.
On January 26, 2012, he was traded by Florida to the
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...
in exchange for
Sean Sullivan.
The following year, on July 11, 2013, Kennedy signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way deal with the
Phoenix Coyotes. 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. He was assigned to their AHL affiliate, the
Hershey Bears
The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season maki ...
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
HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (russian: Нефтехимик Нижнекамск, en, Nizhnekamsk Petrochemist) is a professional ice hockey team based in Nizhnekamsk, in the Tatarstan, a federal subject of the Russian Federation. They are members ...
of the
Kontinental Hockey League
The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...
(KHL) for the
2015–16 season. 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 2015–16 KHL season was the eighth season of the Kontinental Hockey League. The season started on 24 August 2015 with the Opening Cup between defending champions SKA Saint Petersburg and last year's Continental Cup winners CSKA Moscow, r ...
, the club bought out his contract. He finished the season playing for Helsinki-based
Jokerit
Helsingin Jokerit (English: Jokers or Jesters) are a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team won six league championships as a member of the Finnish SM-liiga (1973, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, and 2002). Jokerit plays its h ...
, 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, but eventually moved to Sweden, signing a one-year deal with
Luleå HF
Luleå Hockeyförening is an ice hockey club from Luleå, Sweden. The club has been playing in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the top tier of ice hockey in Sweden, since the 1984–85 season. They are the northernmost team in the league and h ...
of the
Swedish Hockey League (SHL) on July 21, 2016. 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. He was released from his contract in December 2016 and was claimed on waivers by the
Charlotte Checkers
The Charlotte Checkers are a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the top minor league affi ...
of the AHL. The Checkers, after conversing with Kennedy, then dropped their claim and allowed Kennedy to sign with the
Rochester Americans
The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, ...
, allowing him to be closer to his family.
On October 5, 2017, after a successful try-out Kennedy was signed to a one-year AHL contract with the
Binghamton Devils
The Binghamton Devils were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2017 to 2021 as the top minor league affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s New Jersey Devils. Based in Binghamton, New Y ...
for the
2017–18 season.
International play
Tim Kennedy was named to the
Team USA
The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions.
Olympic teams
Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...
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
Regular season and playoffs
International
Awards and honors
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Tim
1986 births
Living people
American men's ice hockey left wingers
Binghamton Devils players
Buffalo Sabres players
Connecticut Whale (AHL) players
Florida Panthers players
Hartford Wolf Pack players
Hershey Bears players
Ice hockey people from Buffalo, New York
Jokerit players
Luleå HF players
Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey players
HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk players
Phoenix Coyotes players
Portland Pirates players
Rochester Americans players
San Antonio Rampage players
San Jose Sharks players
Sioux City Musketeers players
Washington Capitals draft picks
Worcester Sharks players