Tim Kennedy (ice hockey)

Timothy J. Kennedy
Born	(1986-04-30) April 30, 1986 Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Professional ice hockey forward (retired)
Years active	2008–2018
Known for	Playing in the NHL for Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, San Jose Sharks, Phoenix Coyotes

Timothy J. Kennedy (born April 30, 1986) is a retired American professional ice hockey forward who competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) representing the Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, San Jose Sharks, and Phoenix Coyotes.

Amateur

Kennedy began his hockey journey with the Buffalo Regals, where he played alongside future Michigan State teammate Chris Mueller. He attended Bishop Timon - St. Jude High School and took part in the Empire State Games, securing gold medals in both 2002 and 2003. Opting to preserve his NCAA eligibility, he declined an offer from the Ontario Hockey League and was subsequently drafted by the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League. Accepting a scholarship to Michigan State University, Kennedy played a key role in their 2007 NCAA Championship, contributing with a goal and an assist during the final match.

Professional

Selected 181st overall in the sixth round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals, Kennedy was immediately traded to the Buffalo Sabres. On June 1, 2008, he signed a two-year entry-level contract with Buffalo and started his professional career with their AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates. Kennedy made his NHL debut on December 27, 2008, appearing in his first game in Buffalo.

During the 2009–10 season, he recorded 10 goals and 16 assists across 78 games and added three points in six postseason appearances. Following an arbitration decision that awarded him a $1 million contract, Buffalo placed him on waivers and later bought out his contract for $333,333 amid a $50,000 disagreement.

In August 2010, Kennedy inked a one-year contract with the New York Rangers but was waived and assigned to their AHL team, the Hartford Wolf Pack. February 2011 saw him traded to the Florida Panthers along with a third-round draft pick in exchange for Bryan McCabe.

Kennedy was traded again in January 2012 to the San Jose Sharks for Sean Sullivan. In July 2013, he agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Phoenix Coyotes, participating in 37 games that season as a depth forward.

Returning to his original drafting team, Kennedy signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Washington Capitals in July 2014 but spent that season with their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. There, he tallied 59 points over 75 games and earned selection to the AHL All-Star game.

In June 2015, Kennedy joined Russian KHL side HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk on a one-year deal but departed mid-season due to incompatibility with coaching methods and city life. He completed that campaign with Helsinki’s Jokerit, enjoying a more positive experience. Although planning to return to North America for 2016–17, he signed a one-year contract in July 2016 with Sweden’s Luleå HF competing in the SHL. Kennedy parted ways with Luleå in December citing injuries and family considerations.

Subsequently, he briefly signed with the AHL's Charlotte Checkers but was released to join the Rochester Americans, allowing him to be closer to family. In October 2017, Kennedy secured a one-year AHL agreement with the Binghamton Devils for the 2017–18 season.

International competition

Tim Kennedy earned a spot on the U.S. national team for the 2010 World Championship held in Germany. The U.S. squad finished 13th out of 16 teams, with Kennedy recording one goal across six matches.

Regular season and playoffs

				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	- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"		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 | — | — | — | — | — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	2010–11	Rochester Americans	AHL | 14 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 8	—	—	—	—	— |-	2010–11	Florida Panthers	NHL | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	2011–12	San Antonio Rampage	AHL | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — |-	2011–12	Florida Panthers	NHL	27	1	1	2	4	—	—	—	—	— |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	2011–12	Worcester Sharks	AHL	35	10	21	31	26	—	—	—	—	— |-	2012–13	Worcester Sharks	AHL	37	13	24	37	14	—	—	—	—	— |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	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 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	2015–16 KHL season	HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk	Kontinental Hockey League	KHL | 29 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 20 | —	—	—	—	—
2015–16	Jokerit	KHL | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"		2016–17 SHL season	Luleå HF	Swedish Hockey League	SHL | 18 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 12 | —	—		—	—	—
2016–17 AHL season	Rochester Americans	AHL		47 25 29 28 - - - - - - - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 60 33 42 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

International

Year	Team	Tournament	Placement		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2010	United States	World Championship	13th place		6	1	0	1	0
Total senior appearances					6	1	0	1	0

Awards and honors

Award	Year
Collegiate
NCAA All-Tournament Team	2007
CCHA Second Team	2008