Minnesota Wild: Mikko Koivu could be on injured list for more than a month
By Luke Ryan
The Minnesota Wild will be without their captain, Mikko Koivu for a while after he left their game with the Calgary Flames with a lower-body injury.
Early indications from the knee-on-knee hit with Mark Giordano were that Mikko Koivu would definitely miss the game the following night with Edmonton, but possibly not too many more for the Minnesota Wild.
However, it now appears that the injury may be worse than first feared; either that or there was an underlying issue beforehand and the hit exacerbated it.
Per reports from Michael Russo of The Athletic, the injury may require three weeks’ off, the result of a sprained MCL and hamstring injury.
Mikko Koivu hasn’t exactly made a habit of injuries over the course of his Minnesota Wild career, but he missed a similar stint back in 2012, albeit for an upper-body issue.
The injury certainly presents some challenges for the Minnesota Wild, who have only been carrying twenty-two players on their roster this season, meaning that injured reserve isn’t even required to replace the captain.
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They have immediately called up Luke Kunin from the Iowa Wild, with strong odds that he may slot into the second-line spot, given the average form of the guys in the bottom-six center role.
It should serve as an extended audition for Kunin; a silver lining to a bad situation. He too knows about this sort of lower-body injury, having injured his ACL last season, requiring reconstructive surgery to fix it. The fact he has found his way back to the Minnesota Wild line-up is testament to his hard work.
Whilst Mikko Koivu is getting on a bit, he still provides the Wild with stability and a strong two-way game down the middle. This season, he sits on 21 points in 27 games; on track for 60 points across a full season at that pace.
It’s not to be underestimated what he brings to the team and he will no doubt be missed. His presence against the Edmonton Oilers might not have rescued the team from a 7-2 defeat, but I’m sure he would’ve ensured they felt culpable for it post-game.
In the room, you’ll now be expecting guys like veteran Matt Hendricks and Ryan Suter to be the leaders in his absence.
Next. Lomberg suspended for instigating fight with Dumba. dark
Hopefully his recovery timeline doesn’t extend to the three weeks being reported, but if it does, maybe it’s good for the Minnesota Wild. Maybe it’s a reason to be forced to evaluate the future.