WildHBcommunity: Mikko Koivu: The Love & Hate Relationship with MNWild Fans
"To define Mikko by his statistics is to miss the point of what he's all about," he said. -Minnesota Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher on Koivu signing seven-year, $47.25 million contract extension July 16th 2010
The legend of Kaptain Koivu will be told as a tale of huge expectations and never ending misconceptions about his playing ability and worth to the Minnesota Wild. The lightning rod for the fan base when things go awry and instant reactionary take being the lack of goal scoring has squarely pitted Wild fans against each other season after season when it comes to what the present and future in the State of hockey should be for Koivu.
I think the most common misconception about the play of Koivu by fans has been if he is not scoring goals than he is not playing well or being productive. Koivu gets the brunt of the blame for this team’s failing power play and lack of goal scoring in general it seems. Koivu’s demeanor and answers to relevant questions tend to come across as lacking passion & accountability especially when things are not going well for the Wild.
To understand what it is that makes Koivu the type of player that the front office personnel, coaches, teammates, and opponents revere and respect you have to dig deeper into his ability to affect the game with his size, intelligence, and defensive abilities. Koivu is the backbone of the Wild’s ability to limit opponents offenses as his commitment to the defensive aspects of the game as a forward filter to this team’s other forwards young and old.
Koivu plays a rugged brand of hockey and makes opponents earn every inch while in possession of the puck or along the boards in both zones. Koivu’s work ethic and discipline have created a precedence here that each player must be accountable to the back check and contribute in a 200 foot brand of hockey. Koivu gets banged up playing the way he does which he usually get criticism rather than credit for but I think it is fair to say if he was pulling up on hits and gliding around preserving himself the negative affect with his teammates and the fans would be much more damaging.
I think there exists very tangible advanced statistics evidence whether it be possession stats, quality of opponents, etc to prove that the Wild is a better team with Koivu on the ice and finding his replacement would be a very tough task. Koivu’s strengths as a two-way center with the size & strength combination allow him to matchup with nearly any line in the NHL which is maybe the most marketable trait in the league as we are sure to see when/if Ryan Kesler is traded and when Paul Statsny signs a new deal via unrestricted free agency in July.
The Wild transitioned from its ONLY superstar in franchise history Marian Gaborik to Koivu as the face of the franchise. Gaborik who besides scoring a ton of goals, making a ton of money, had also been elected the captain at different points. There is a clear difference between Koivu and Gaborik in just about every aspect but the will forever be tied together because of their history and prominence with the Minnesota Wild. Gaborik did the thing that casual hockey fans latch onto in scoring highlight goals and creating signature moments with his all-world speed and excellent hands.
In Gaborik the franchise enjoyed national attention from the major media outlets and it was able to market their team/brand outside of the loyal hockey community that had fought hard to prove returning the NHL to the State of Hockey was the right thing to do. The separation of Gaborik and Koivu has everything to do with how they have conducted themselves and competed within the system and to the benefit of the front office, coaching staff, teammates, and fans.
Gaborik has become a well traveled talent because he’s a me-first type of player and person. The NHL is a business so I would never expect Gaborik to not leverage his situation but there has been clear moments of destructive confrontations and troubling lack of effort for him to the determent of his team. That has never happened with Koivu in his NHL to the point that despite receiving very little help from the front office bringing talent here, he still reinforced the system despite a clear lack of talent.
Koivu is never going to put up huge goal numbers here in Minnesota or anywhere else. Sure his contract with 4 years left at a $6.75 Million per year cap hit doesn’t seem to matchup with his overall production numbers but his worth to the Wild does. Koivu’s role with the Wild is sure to evolve during the next 4 seasons should he remain in Minnesota through the end of his current deal. As soon as next season his deployment could easily become specialized by head coach Mike Yeo given the emergence of young centermen Mikael Granlund & Erik Haula.
To trade Koivu would require the universe to align in truth because he has 4 years left on his current contract and a no-trade clause. To move Koivu in a trade Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher would need to receive a center with an NHL future near guaranteed and soon because the organization does not a have a player that profiles currently as possible Top 6 centermen. I would argue that Koivu’s trade value is most likely peaking right now but to actually complete a trade would leave the Wild with more questions than answers at this point.
For those Wild fans that go off on a tangent about Koivu’s inability to score goals especially in the playoffs, I am right there with you but a better understanding of what Koivu does well leads to a conclusion that he is never going to carry this team scoring goals. The challenge will be for the young forwards to become the goal scorers for this team and put Koivu’s stout 200 foot effort and complimentary offensive abilities to good use.
Last thought being that although Zach Parise and Ryan Suter wanted to return to near their homes to continue their NHL careers, this team is modeled around Kaptain Koivu’s heart and soul effort that sold them on what was being built here. Parise being on the squad doesn’t mean he wants to be the captain because as we have seen heavy is the head that wears that crown.
Just My Take,
Tony Dean
Follow Me on Twitter @TonyDeanTHW
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