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Forums :: Blog World :: Dan Wallace: Wild Bid Farewell to KapFinn
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Dan Wallace
Joined: 09.15.2005

Sep 18 @ 2:02 PM ET
Dan Wallace: Wild Bid Farewell to KapFinn
TheGame316
Joined: 11.18.2008

Sep 18 @ 2:20 PM ET
Not sure why you all love him so much

Had a pretty mediocre career for a #6 overall pick and you guys paid him a ton for underwhelming production and no real post season success
MacPatty
Pittsburgh Penguins
Joined: 05.21.2015

Sep 18 @ 2:59 PM ET
Yeah, don't understand the all out Koivu love but not my team.

I do agree on the Staal trade though. Johansen will have the better year. He got buried by Buffalo with 45% offensive zone starts vs Stall at 55%. Watch the numbers change when the shoe is on the other foot.
bmgarvert
Minnesota Wild
Joined: 07.15.2009

Sep 18 @ 3:12 PM ET
Us Wild fans loved him so much because he was the 1st round pick after the inaugural season, averaged .7 pts/gm during his career(on a team that never had high powered scoring capabilities outside of Gaborik for a few year), played rock solid defense and was widely considered one of the best two way centers around the league for a decade.
Sven22
Detroit Red Wings
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Joined: 12.24.2007

Sep 18 @ 3:59 PM ET
Not sure why you all love him so much

Had a pretty mediocre career for a #6 overall pick and you guys paid him a ton for underwhelming production and no real post season success

- TheGame316


Koivu is the 9th highest scoring No. 6 pick of all time, and he jumps up to as high as 6th place depending on how you adjust for era.

Was a ~0.8 ppg player in his prime on a very defensively oriented team with not a lot of support. Also he was (and actually continues to be) very good defensively.

Team captain for 11 years.

Like I get that he's not going to make the Hall of Fame, but come on. If he was on your team you'd love him.
mnhockeyguy
Minnesota Wild
Location: Frostbite Falls, MN
Joined: 10.23.2014

Sep 18 @ 6:07 PM ET
I'm a Wild fan and live in Minnesota and I was never overly enamored with Koivu. IMHO he perfectly summed up the Wild as a team. Non descript, consistently decent to good. Nothing more, nothing less. Not deserving of having his number retired even though the team probably will. I don't think the team will miss him as much as some fans want to believe. EK and Sturm will pick up the slack this year as defensive centers.
Tweaterben
Minnesota Wild
Location: PROFESSIONAL CHOKE ARTISTS, MN
Joined: 10.19.2008

Sep 21 @ 9:42 AM ET
Not sure why you all love him so much

Had a pretty mediocre career for a #6 overall pick and you guys paid him a ton for underwhelming production and no real post season success

- TheGame316

Never did, not sure where you got that from... You would have to talk to the Wild organization as to why they kept him around for so long with that high of a salary
MnGump
Minnesota Wild
Location: Columbus, MN
Joined: 06.21.2012

Sep 21 @ 4:37 PM ET
As a long time Koivu fan, it's certainly sad to see him go with never really getting a real chance to compete for a cup. I truly believe had he had the opportunity on a different team or better Wild personnel management, he could have been so much more.

I have always thought and still believe that Koivu is one of the most underrated and unsung 2 way centers in the game, although his skill leaned more towards the defensive side of the game, he still had a lot of offensive upside. He's ranked 7th overall in career shootout goals.
Gusrichards
Season Ticket Holder
Minnesota Wild
Location: Duluth, MN
Joined: 02.22.2012

Sep 22 @ 1:35 PM ET
Koivu's legacy will be what has hurt the Wild since it's inception. Mikko would have been an excellent #2 C on any SC team. The problem is that the Wild basically forced him into the #1 C spot and never tried to bring in another player to take that #1 C spot from Koivu. The Wild have NEVER had a true #1 Center and have limped along in mediocrity because of this.

Any team would kill to have a roster full of players the ilk of Mikko Koivu. He played the game to his strengths, which has being highly defensively responsible. It is not his fault, since his game never showed the "wow" factor of offense. Why do/did a lot of Wild fans love Kaptain K's game? He was better than an average player, by quite a margin...just not highly skilled in offense. To watch Koivu's game night in and night out, I for one extremely appreciated how hard he worked and how hard he tried to be that legit offensive force that everyone clamored for. You spend a decade plus watching Mikko play and you will completely understand the love for him. It was a great career, albeit no Cups.

But it was time to move on...
Gertner
Toronto Maple Leafs
Joined: 08.04.2017

Sep 22 @ 4:15 PM ET
Eric Staal was coming off one down year. Plus he has a proven track record. Marcus hasn't had a good year since 2016-17. Bit of a difference.
joegreif17
Location: Hockeyville, BC
Joined: 05.10.2009

Sep 27 @ 6:54 PM ET
Staal at 36 is twice the player that Marcus J is. Marcus is alway injured, not tough and guys take liberties with him, just a terrible trade for Minnesota. Staal I predict will have two more solid seasons at 2C with Buffalo, maybe three. He is a stud. I am done with Minny now, Fiala is going to hard pressed to score since he is the only weapon unless Kaprizov does not do a Shipashev and bomb out. Usually takes the Russians awhile to adapt similar to Gusev who this year should score 70 points even in NJ. He will then be a UFA and sign with Kucherov and gang, maybe