Whenever I think of Finnish Hockey I think of three players. Three of the classiest athletes I have ever met and three players who have had huge impacts on the NHL as well as hockey in their own land. Teemu Selanne, Kimmo Timonen, and of course Saku Koivu. A few months ago Selanne retired, then we saw Kimmo's career be put into jeopardy (although I am not ready to say he is done) and now word is Saku Koivu is preparing to announce his retirement.
Saku, Teemu, and Kimmo are all beloved players and were all very popular players in their cities, but Saku and the city of Montreal really had a special connection. There were years there where Saku Koivu WAS the Montreal Canadiens, and the fans in Montreal truly still poured their love out to Koivu every time he returned. You can be sure there will be a special night honoring Saku this year at the Bell Center...and that will be the hardest ticket to get all season.
I will have a full blog after today's earlier podcast..we are going live at noon with Paige Lewis as our guest today.