Player Discussion Mikko Koivu III

[Bazeek]

Kinda weird to start a new thread for a player that just signed elsewhere, but here we are.

Continue.

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[Bazeek]

Boooo it’s gonna be sacrilege to see him wearing a different jersey

I literally have never been so unattached mentally to a long term MN sports star.

His contract screwed us for years and he was always overpaid. Was never a legitimate 1c although he was paid like one. Did this franchise 0 favors.

Although as an employee rights kind of guy I fully understand.

I wish him the best and his jersey should go up. But this state has had better sports heros.

Koivu has always been a great defensive player, faceoff man, and penalty killer. Lately he was a step slow, and expected time on the power play. As a half wall guy most of the time would throw it back to the point sometimes without looking to the middle of the ice. Also as a big guy rarely body checked anyone especially in the neutral zone. In our house he was known as Captain Pokecheck.

Hope he does well in Columbus and agree he should have his number retired.

Body checking is overrated, and out of style in any event. The main thing is to use your body by placing it in between your opponents body and your own goal. Koivu was superb at this, and at using his big body to influence games. It's one of those things you don't notice if you are watching on tv, rather than in person. He was a terrific all round player who spent his prime with mediocrities and under a defense first system, like Barzal is under now. That is going to deflate offensive numbers.

 

[BigT2002]

Should have won the Selke in 2016, in my opinion.

However, after that year -- he has been significantly dropping in offensive production. The change in faceoffs didn't seem to do him any favors either. Gettin' up there in age, no way he could not have known the time would come that he would stop playing with the best wingers on a team + PP time. This is the right move for both the Wild and Mikko both though. Wild need to get faster and younger. Koivu isn't exactly throwing up 60+ points that you would expect from 1C/2C type linemates and PP time. He leaves and goes to a team with basically little expectations of being "that player" and gets to focus on what he does absolutely fantastic at: defensive forward.

Hope he kills it for the Columbus though, really do.

 

[HotDish]

this should go over well.

 

[TaLoN]

this should go over well.

Meh, truth is truth.

 

[BagHead]

this should go over well.

It only stings because it's true.

 

[AKL]

this should go over well.

I mean I'm not gonna blame it all on him, but he scored at less than a 40 point pace in the playoffs while being a top 6 center, so if he wanted more success he definitely should have been better and he might have seen it.

Maybe taking this potshot at the Wild will be the straw that broke the camels back when it comes to not retiring his jersey.

 

[2Pair]

Meh, truth is truth.

Captains that never really showed up in the playoffs, don't get to say things like that.

 

[TaLoN]

Captains that never really showed up in the playoffs, don't get to say things like that.

He was asked why he's playing another year by the Columbus media. He's being honest. He was never an offensive dynamo, but he always was there defensively.

He's free to answer questions honestly.

 

[2Pair]

He was asked why he's playing another year by the Columbus media. He's being honest. He was never an offensive dynamo, but he always was there defensively.

He's free to answer questions honestly.

And he needs to be smart enough not to say what he said.

 

[AKL]

He was asked why he's playing another year by the Columbus media. He's being honest. He was never an offensive dynamo, but he always was there defensively.

He's free to answer questions honestly.

Sure, he can answer honestly. But when what he was answers that question the way he did, he certainly loses respect (getting his jersey retired).

 

[TaLoN]

And he needs to be smart enough not to say what he said.

I see nothing wrong with what he said.

 

[HotDish]

Meh, truth is truth.

I wouldnt say CBJ is such a playoff contender with their

*checks notes*

One 2nd round appearance.

 

[TaLoN]

I wouldnt say CBJ is such a playoff contender with their

*checks notes*

One 2nd round appearance.

They looked like a pretty good team this past playoffs. He's giving it a shot on a team that will likely get extra games. He's saying he wants to give it a go for hopefully some playoff success. He didn't call CBJ the cup favorites.

I'm not going to try reading between the lines on a statement that's pretty straight forward and truthful.

 

[2Pair]

I see nothing wrong with what he said.

I guarantee that his former teammates do

 

[TheeNorthStar]

this should go over well.

use me as a dislike button

 

[TaLoN]

I guarantee that his former teammates do

I don't see why they would. He played here for 15 years, was in the playoffs 9 times, made the 2nd round twice.

He's just being honest, and his teammates likely feel the same.

The team overall was never good enough, not just the individual players, but the entire organization.

His former teammates understand his perspective better than anyone. It's not like he's calling anyone out, just speaking the truth. That's why we're on the 4th GM here during the time Mikko was here.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I hope he scores a ton of goals against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

 

[thestonedkoala]

this should go over well.

Honestly, I think something was lost in translation or edited in process.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

He was asked why he's playing another year by the Columbus media. He's being honest. He was never an offensive dynamo, but he always was there defensively.

He's free to answer questions honestly.

That’s not an excuse for his offensive numbers to plummet like they did. He wasn’t paid to only be a shutdown center.

 

[TaLoN]

That’s not an excuse for his offensive numbers to plummet like they did. He wasn’t paid to only be a shutdown center.

Never said it was an excuse. I'm just saying the teams scoring problems were wide spread... he was hardly the only player to vanish offensively.

It's been a franchise problem for as long as the franchise has existed.

 

[thestonedkoala]

I have two thoughts on this:

1) Koivu always gave me the vibe that he only cared about himself and his legacy, not so much the team. He never took a discount when signing his contracts (his extension under Fletcher was a pretty big contract back then) and then his 2 year extension was still pretty high for a guy that wasn't producing a lot. I don't really remember him speaking up a lot when the team struggled. I get that his play on ice showed his commitment, but the guy struck me as a little egotistical and a little selfish. These quotes cement that.

however

2) I also think that these quotes are misrepresented and they may have been edited. I want to see the whole interview, because I feel like this is clickbait. Koivu was a good player for the Wild - overpriced, but good. It wasn't their fault that Fletcher and Risebrough couldn't draft OR develop a team around him.

 

[Goose312]

They looked like a pretty good team this past playoffs. He's giving it a shot on a team that will likely get extra games. He's saying he wants to give it a go for hopefully some playoff success. He didn't call CBJ the cup favorites.

I'm not going to try reading between the lines on a statement that's pretty straight forward and truthful.

But will they? They were 6th in the Metro when the season paused. NYR is going to be much better next season and they are the only competitive team in the Metro Columbus beat. Plus the Atlantic isn't straight trash anymore. Now that Hall signed we'll see what else CBJ does in free agency, but they are bringing back the same team that was hoping to just barely squeak into the playoffs last year, only with Koivu instead of Wennberg.

 

[Ban Hammered]

I guarantee that his former teammates do

They know he's right.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

It's almost as if key players underperforming has a detrimental effect on playoff success.