The Wild and Mikko Koivu are parting ways after what has been a great and long relationship.. It is becoming very apparent that Guerin in Minnesota wants the team leadership and identity to come from the young players and sometimes to do this you need to move out the older voices and personalities in the room. Staal and Koivu were two of the biggest and while they are both HIGHLY positive voices, their mere existence can keep young players from stepping up and claiming their stake of the core group.
The initial thought was Koivu was likely to retire, but today the Wild have come out and said they won't be bringing him back, which leads to speculation that he still wants to play...and if this is the case, I am told that Montreal will be front and center to talk to him. Mikko's brother, Saku, is of course a legend in Montreal and so beloved that Finnish players have always loved and wanted to play for the Canadiens.
We will be keeping an eye on this...
Calgary/Philly talk.
The Flames are continuing to search out options for Johnny Gaudreau and it's no secret Gaudreau, who grew up a Flyers fan in South Jersey, is very much a good fit for a Philly team who wants to add scoring and speed. The asking price would start with Gostisbehere, who will very much benefit from a fresh start, a pick and a player...some are speculating that Van Riemsdyke could be included to make the money work and give Calgary help on the power play...
On Evgeni Malkin...
Word is the Predators possibility is very much alive and the Sharks have also contacted Pittsburgh. Make no mistake about it..Rutherford is far from "shopping" Geno, but he is listening and "open to creative ideas."
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