Mikko Koivu unexpectedly retires…

 

Yesterday brought the news that Mikko Koivu decided to hang up the skates and call it a career after 16 seasons in the NHL. He spent almost all of his career with the Minnesota Wild and had spent part of this current season with Columbus.

 Am I surprised he retired yesterday? I actually thought he would have retired after Wild GM announced he was moving on from the first full-time captain in Wild history (the link to my article about Koivu's time being done here with the Wild is here.) He surprised a lot of people by signing a one year deal to play in Columbus. At the same time, I’m not surprised he retired after giving it the old “college try” to play at least one more season. He’s not getting any younger (he turns 38 in March) and he’s also two years off of a knee injury in which he needed surgery to repair a torn ACL and meniscus--which I think he appeared to be slower on the ice after coming back. 

So, Koivu’s decision to retire yesterday came completely out of the blue and the announcement came on an off day for the Blue Jackets. Andrew Steele-Davis of Fansided stated this about Koivu’s decision to retire:

 “It was a huge shock to many in the National Hockey League and the decision appeared to completely come out of the blue, with Koivu stating that he wasn’t happy with his level of play this season and, as a result, decided that it would be in the best interests of all concerned to hang up the skates…He played the game of hockey the right way, he never took a shift off, he was a fierce competitor in all three zones, he was a model professional, a perfect role model for his younger peers and there is no doubt that, when all is said and done, Mikko Koivu’s famous No. 9 jersey will be the first jersey to be hung from the rafters at the Xcel Energy Center.”

Aaron Portzline (who covers the Blue Jackets for The Athletic) stated that Koivu had spent the last couple of weeks becoming frustrated with his own play and after watching Monday’s Blue Jackets’ win over Carolina as a healthy scratch, he realized it was time to retire.

After 1,035 career games (all but 7 of them in a Minnesota Wild Sweater), Koivu hangs the skates up...and he left it all out on the ice. 

From the NHL on Mikko Koivu's retirement (@nhl on twitter)

Sources:

Andrew Steele-Davis https://puckprose.com/2021/02/09/columbus-blue-jackets-mikko-koivu-walks-off-sunset/?utm_campaign=FanSided+Daily&utm_source=FanSided+Daily&utm_medium=email

Aaron Portzline https://theathletic.com/2378453/2021/02/09/mikko-koivu-blue-jackets-retirement-wild/?source=dailyemail