Wild to retire Koivu’s No. 9 on March 13
Minnesota Wild's Mikko Koivu celebrates with teammates while on the ice in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Dallas Stars, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2019, in St. Paul, Minn. The game marks Koivu's 1,000 NHL game, making him the first player in franchise history to do so.[AP Photo/Stacy Bengs/File]
The Minnesota Wild will retire the first jersey in franchise history on March 13.
The organization said Monday that former longtime captain Mikko Koivu’s Nov. 9 jersey number will be raised to the Xcel Energy Center rafters in a special ceremony ahead of the team’s game against Nashville.
"We are extremely excited to announce that Mikko Koivu will be the first player in team history to have his jersey retired," Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold said in a statement. "Mikko did so many great things for our organization on the ice and in our community during his 15-year career here. He truly deserves this honor and I look forward to celebrating this historic moment with his family and all our passionate fans at Xcel Energy Center on March 13."
After being drafted No. 6 overall in the 2001 NHL Draft, Koivu made his NHL debut on Nov. 5, 2005 and became Minnesota’s first full-time team captain on Oct. 20, 2009. He’s the Wild’s all-time leader in games played (1,028), assists (504), points (709), plus/minus rating (plus-70), shots on goal (2,270), power-play points (251), power-play assists (191), shorthanded points (25), shorthanded assists (15), multi-point games (153), face-offs won (10,354), face-offs taken (19,290), shootout attempts (107), shootout goals (42), game deciding goals (18) and playoff games played (59), and he ranks second in team history in goals (205), power-play goals (60), shorthanded goals (10), penalty minutes (592), playoff points (28) and playoff assists (17), T-2nd in overtime goals (5) and third in game-winning goals (33).
After 15 seasons with the Wild, Koivu signed with Columbus on Oct. 10, 2020. After seven games with the Blue Jackets, Koivu retired.
"No one worked harder than Mikko during his time with the Minnesota Wild," Wild General Manger Bill Guerin said. "He was a fiery competitor and a fantastic captain both on and off the ice. Mikko is the franchise leader in so many categories, but the impact he made in our community and the connections he made with Wild fans, will live on forever. We look forward to sharing this special honor with Mikko and all of our great fans on March 13."