After seven games in Columbus, Koivu announced his retirement from the NHL on Tuesday. "I haven't been able to get to the level of play that I need to be true to myself and fair to my teammates, so the time is right for me to retire from hockey," Koivu said in a statement. Koivu retires with 711 points (206G / 505A) in 1035 career NHL games.
Koivu has been in the lineup for the last seven games but will sit in the second game of a back-to-back on Monday. Kevin Stenlund (upper-body) will return from a six-game absence to replace Koivu.
Koivu missed the first six games of the season but will make his debut Tuesday vs. the Panthers. The 37-year-old centre, who had 21 points (4G / 17A) in 55 games a season ago, will play on the fourth line with Mikhail Grigorenko and Kevin Stenlund.
Koivu was banged up midway through training camp and will miss at least the first two games of the season in Nashville. With Koivu out, Mikhail Grigorenko has been bumped up to the first line in order to allow Alexandre Texier to centre the third line. John Tortorella did not have much of an update on Koivu other than to say he won't travel, no timetable on his return was given.
Koivu comes in to replace Alexander Wennberg, who was bought-out, and will serve as the Blue Jackets' third-line centre. The veteran centre has had a tough time staying healthy over the last two seasons, missing 48 (31.8%) of the 151 games. Even in a decreased role, he's averaged 10 goals and 30 assists (per 82 games) over those two seasons and is a perfect fit as a third-line centre because he could move to the second line in a pinch.
Koivu has missed the last two games with an illness but will play Wednesday vs. the Red Wings. Koivu will centre a line with Jordan Greenway and Ryan Hartman and heads into Wednesday with 13 points (2G / 11A) in 35 games.
Koivu was a late-scratch on Saturday and it looks like he'll miss his second straight game on Monday. Koivu took part in the Wild's morning skate but is not expected to play vs. the Panthers. After a 7-0 win, head coach Bruce Boudreau may not want to change things.
Koivu was back at practice on Monday but remains a game-time decision for Tuesday's game. Koivu, who has missed the last 12 games with a lower-body injury, will centre the second line with Zach Parise and Kevin Fiala if he does play.
Koivu missed last night's game in Tampa Bay and his move to IR means he will have to miss two more games. Placing him on IR opened up a roster spot to call-up Nico Sturm from Iowa (AHL).
Koivu was forced to leave Tuesday's game in Florida with a lower-body injury and missed Wednesday's practice. The Wild have labelled Koivu as day-to-day, which makes him highly questionable for Thursday's game in Tampa Bay.
Koivu suffered the injured while colliding with Tage Thompson of the Sabres. This is a huge blow for the Wild, who have recalled Joel Eriksson Ek from Iowa (AHL) to replace Koivu at centre. Koivu finishes the season with eight goals and 21 assists (29 points) in 48 games.
Koivu has missed the last four games with a lower-body injury but will play Tuesday vs. the Sharks. The lines were shuffled while Koivu was out and will remain the same tonight, with Koivu returning on the third line with Jason Zucker and Luke Kunin on his wings.
Koivu has missed the last three games with a knee injury that he suffered on December 6th in Calgary. The Wild play in the afternoon on Saturday, so monitor his status when they hit the ice for warmups at 1:00 pm.
Koivu was hurt in Calgary on Thursday in a collision with Mark Giordano, a play that resulted in Giordano getting suspended. The Wild listed Koivu as day-to-day but he could miss three weeks with a sprained MCL and hamstring injury according to Michael Russo of The Athletic. Luke Kunin was recalled from Iowa (AHL) to replace Koivu on the roster.
Koivu missed practice on Monday but was on the ice for the morning skate and is expected to be in the lineup tonight. Koivu has picked up one goal and four assists in his last six games and has 21 points (6G / 15A) in 42 games this season.
Koivu missed Monday's practice because of an illness and is listed as questionable for tomorrow's game vs. Calgary. Monitor Koivu's status during Minnesota's morning skate.