Former Minnesota Wild captain Mikko Koivu announces his retirement
In a sudden and surprising development, former Minnesota Wild captain Mikko Koivu has announced his retirement.
After 15 seasons with the Minnesota Wild, Mikko Koivu signed a one-year deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets this offseason. On Tuesday, just seven games into his Blue Jackets’ tenure, the 37-year old center has announced his retirement.
In 1,035 career regular season games over 16 seasons, Koivu had 711 points (206 goals, 505 assists) with a +68 plus/minus. All but seven of those games and two of those points came in a Wild sweater, where he will stand as the longest-tenured captain in franchise history until further notice. He’ll also go down as one of the best defensive centers of his era, garnering Selke Award votes in 10 different seasons with three top-five finishes for the award. Injuries have taken their toll on him in recent years, and he wasn’t playing much for the Blue Jackets.
Salute to Koivu on a long NHL career.