Minnesota Wild: Mikko Koivu’s Expectations for Next Season
By Turner Olson
After a Renaissance year for the Minnesota Wild, what will Mikko Koivu’s place on the team next season be?
The focus of this article is to examine current player’s place on the Minnesota Wild roster next season. Or if the team is best served by no longer having that player on the roster in 2016-17, Mikko Koivu is the subject of this post. Here is a quick overview of how this past season went for the Wild captain.
In the regular season, Koivu finished with a slash line of 17+39=56. He led the team in points. From a purely production standpoint, 56 points represents Koivu’s best season since 2010-11. In the past five non-lockout shortened seasons, the captain has averaged 52.8 points per season. Based on those numbers, at this point I think it is safe to say Koivu is capable of somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 points in a top six role.
However that is only half the story with Koivu, and the facts remain that he is unquestionably the Wild’s best defensive forward. That much is evidenced by Interim Head Coach John Torchetti’s comments, calling Koivu the best defensive forward he’s coached. This is high praise coming from a man who coached Jonathan Toews.
In addition, as a center men success in the face off circle is important to keep possession of the the puck. In this regard, he is the best the Wild have to offer, winning 56.14% of his face offs this season and averaging 53.7 % for his career. Success in the face off circle and on the defensive end will keep Koivu an important part of the Wild even when his offense eventually declines.
However given that Koivu is coming off a career rejuvenating year, do not expect his offensive numbers to dip much. And they could be slightly better depending on who is around him. It is important to remember that the center men is not so much a goal scorer as he is a play maker for his line mates. Should a player like Charlie Coyle take a step forward, his numbers could see an increase.
The importance of the captain goes even further. He is one of three players currently on the roster that the Wild trust in all situations. Along with Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, Koivu is entrusted to play on both the power play and penalty kill. Last season, Koivu led the team with 10 power play goals, showing his effectiveness on the man advantage. The fact that Koivu never has to come off the ice makes him even more valuable to this team.
In the playoffs, Koivu played like one of the best players on the team. He finished with three goals and two assists for a total of five points, good enough to be tied for third on the team. He also had a career defining game four in Dallas. Koivu scored with less than 4 minutes to go to send the game into overtime and then won it when he deflected Ryan Suter’s shot in from the point.
Next: A Look Back at The Real Boogeyman
That game established Koivu as the leader of this team, an aspect which cannot be overlooked. He is the captain of this team for a reason, a captain has to have the ability to put the team on his back from time to time and will them to victory. Koivu showed he has that capability in the Dallas series. Expect him to continue to be this team’s leader in 2016-17. He will continue to be a top 6 center for new coach Bruce Boudreau next season.