In the history of the Minnesota Wild, no other player will wear the #9 - something we all knew was going to happen - it was announced that the franchise would retire Mikko Koivu's jersey number in a special ceremony on March 13 before the Wild are set to play the Predators.
He was the first permanent captain of the Franchise and he played his entire career in Minnesota - outside of playing seven games with Columbus in 2020 before the Pandemic.
Koivu is the Franchise all-time leader in games played (1,028), assists (504), points (709), plus/minus rating (plus-70), shots on goal (2,270), power-play points (251), power-play assists (191), shorthanded points (25), shorthanded assists (15), multi-point games (153), face-offs won (10,354), face-offs taken (19,290), shootout attempts (107), shootout goals (42), game-deciding goals (18) and playoff games played (59).
He ranks second in team history in goals (205), power-play goals (60), shorthanded goals (10), penalty minutes (592), playoff points (28) and playoff assists (17), T-2nd in overtime goals (5), and third in game-winning goals (33).
The statistics tell us alone that he had one heck of a career and having his number retired is well deserved.
"No one worked harder than Mikko during his time with the Minnesota Wild," said Wild General Manager Bill Guerin. "He was a fiery competitor and a fantastic captain both on and off the ice. Mikko is the franchise leader in so many categories, but the impact he made in our community and the connections he made with Wild fans, will live on forever."
BADER'S TAKE
Koivu deserves to be cemented into the history books of the Minnesota Wild.
He may not have won the cup, but he was a huge reason for why the Minnesota Wild are where they are right now - first in the Central Division and looking like real contenders. Koivu was the leader of the team, he created a winning and competitive atmosphere. He brought the Wild to the next step, it was just time for someone else to take the reins and finish what he started.
Koivu has done tons of good for the community of Minnesota and is a leader off the ice as well. He still lives in Minnesota with his family and considers it his home away from home - Koivu is native to Finland.
He has had an unofficial role with the Wild this year as he sits in on coaches meetings and manager meetings and attends several games in the press box with Billy G. One can assume that he will have more of an official role in the Wild organization soon to come, what that role is, is still a mystery.
For more on Koivu scroll to the bottom
Game Recap:
The Wild have been on a tear as of late.
They thumped the Arizona Coyotes 5-2 Tuesday night to grab their fourth win in a row to improve to 15-6-1 on the season.
Minnesota is third in the league for goals scored, with 81 goals. Washington and the Panthers have 82.
Per the NHL, the Wild ended the month of November with a 10-3-1 record and 21 points (.750 p%). Only the Toronto Maple Leafs had a higher point percentage in the last 30 days (.857 p%). The Wild will play the Maple Leafs on Saturday at home.
Minnesota came out in the first and didn't play as well. Arizona was the better team, however, the Wild managed to tie the game and go into the first intermission only down one.
The Wild answered their poor start with an absolute crushing of the Coyotes in the second period.
They dominated the play and got rewarded for their work. They erupted for three goals in the second frame to put the Coyotes away.
Kaprizov - who has caught fire as of late - sniped home a beautiful wrister from the blue line, he now has 4 goals and 14 points in his last 7 games.
The Wild went into the third period with a solid lead and something would have to go very wrong for them to lose this one.
Thankfully, they kept playing their game and came away with a dominant win over the Coyotes.
Kahkonen got the start for the Wild and looked solid after letting in an early goal. After a rough start to the year, he seems to have gotten his footing back.
With Zuccarello (injury), Spurgeon (injury), and Gaudreau (Covid protocol) all out of the lineup the Wild needed to get help from other players.
Addison - a defender his whole career - was thrown into the lineup last minute as the third line winger, he did as good as anyone would expect him to do. Evason rewarded the defenseman for his hard work in practice instead of calling up a forward from Iowa.
Greenway has had his best span of games in a long time. He is engaging more, getting pucks to the net and he got rewarded last night with his first goal of the season.
Minnesota will continue to need their depth players to rise and shine especially if guys continue to be out of the lineup.
They host the New Jersey Devils on December 2, 2021, at home. The Wild won last week in a shootout in New Jersey after being delayed on the bus for several hours.
What's Next:
Minnesota Wild (15-6-1 31pts.) vs. New Jersey Devils (9-7-4 22 pts.)
Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. Puck drop at 7 p. m. Central time
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Mikko Koivu Career Notes:
Played in his last game with Minnesota in Game 4 of the 2020 Qualifying Round against Vancouver (8/7/20).
Played in 1,000th NHL game and scored the game-deciding goal in a 3-2 shootout win vs. Dallas (12/1/19).
Notched 200th career NHL goal vs. Chicago (2/2/19). Mikko and Saku Koivu (255) became 14th set of brothers to score at least 200 goals in the NHL.
Tallied an assist for 700th career NHL point vs. Dallas (12/1/19).
Finalist for 2017 Frank J. Selke Trophy.
Skated in 744th career NHL game vs. Florida (2/28/16) to pass Nick Schultz for most career games played with Minnesota.
Recorded career-high, eight-game point streak (3-7=10, 10/15-10/30/15).
Ranked third in NHL in face-offs won (989) and fourth in face-offs (1,791) in 2014-15, setting career highs in both categories.
Notched three points (2-1=3) vs. Los Angeles (3/28/15) to set franchise record for most career multi-point games (115).
Recorded three assists at New York Islanders (3/18/14) to become Wild's all-time leading scorer.
Ranked fifth in NHL in face-offs, sixth in face-offs won and seventh in TOI/game amongst NHL forwards in 2012-13.
Named to 2012 NHL All-Star Game but did not play due to injury.
Won career-high 23 face-offs vs. Carolina (10/7/10) and Arizona (12/31/11).
Tied Wild record with four assists, including 200th career NHL assist, and was a career-best plus-4 in 400th NHL game vs. Arizona (1/2/11).
Skated a career-high 27:41 vs. Dallas (4/10/10).
Named first full-time team captain in Wild history (10/20/09).
Set career highs in goals (22), assists (49) and points (71) in 2009-10.
Whistled for career-high 12 PIM vs. Tampa (11/28/08).
Scored a career-high five points (1-4=5) at Florida (10/16/08).
Tallied nine points (1-8=9) in first three games of 2008-09 season to become first NHL player to record nine or more points in team's first three games of the season since Adam Oates in 1993-94.
Recorded first career game-winning goal at Colorado (2/22/07).
Tallied first career power-play goal vs. Columbus (11/30/05).
Registered first three NHL assists vs. Nashville (11/19/05).
Scored first career NHL goal at Anaheim (11/6/05, Giguere).
Made NHL debut at San Jose (11/5/05).
Ranked second on Houston Aeros in goals and played in 2005 AHL All-Star Game.
Drafted by Minnesota with the sixth overall selection in 2001 NHL Draft (6/23/01).
Played in 14 international tournaments for Finland including 2016 World Cup of Hockey (captain).
Served as team captain as Finland earned silver medal at 2016 IIHF World Championship.
Led Finland in scoring as captain at the 2012 IIHF World Championship.
Served as captain as Finland won gold medal at 2011 IIHF World Championship and 2000 IIHF Under-18 World Championship.
Won a silver medal with Finland at 2007 IIHF World Championship, 2006 Olympics, 2004 World Cup of Hockey and 2001 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Earned a bronze medal at 2010 Olympics, 2008 and 2006 IIHF World Championships, 2002 IIHF World Junior Championship and the 2001 IIHF Under-18 World Championship.
I think most know his name even if not a sports fan! Amazing career.