Saku Koivu retires after 18 NHL seasons, leaving impact on and off the ice
After 1,124 NHL games, Saku Koivu has decided to retire.
The 39-year old Koivu saw his contract with the Anaheim Ducks ends at the conclusion of the 2013-14 season, and after a summer of deliberating his future he leaves the game after 18 NHL seasons, 255 goals, 832 points and three Olympic bronze medals and a silver medal.
“All in all it has been a dream come true but what I value the most in hockey is the feeling of being part of a team and the friendships I have made along the way,” Koivu said in a statement released by the NHLPA on Wednesday morning.
“I could not have made it without the loving support of my parents and family. I was blessed with a wonderful childhood and an upbringing that provided me with all I needed to make my career and life what it is today. Thank you Hanna, Ilona and Aatos for loving me as a man and father and supporting my career and sharing the ups and downs of it all. I love you.”
Koivu will be remembered for not just what he did on the ice, but also off of it.
In Sept. 2001, Koivu was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, three weeks after getting engaged to his now-wife, Hanna. After missing most of the 2001-02 season, the first European captain in Montreal Canadiens history returned on April 9 in an emotional scene at Bell Centre:
“It’s something that I can’t explain, but something that I will never forget,” said Koivu of the ovation to Elliotte Friedman in 2009.
Koivu was awarded the Bill Masterton Trophy in 2002 and followed up his defeat of cancer with a then-career best 71 points the next season.
In 2002, the Saku Koivu Foundation was launched with the goal of raising $8 million for a PET scan for cancer patients at Montreal General Hospital, the first of its kind in the city. Nearly 3,000 patients a year use the machine, which features Koivu’s autograph on the side — a small, but strong sign for a patient.
“I think it gives them some sort of a subliminal lift that maybe some of the magic will rub off on [them],” said Dr. David Mulder, the Canadiens physician who diagnosed Koivu’s cancer. “It’s not very scientific, but there’s clearly an emotional lift going in the machine that Saku provided.”
“There are thousands and thousands of people who have gone through it,” Koivu said earlier this year. “Every time you think about it, it makes you feel that you’ve helped somebody and it's a very special feeling.”
One of those people helped by Koivu was Raphael LeClaire, who battled cancer twice before ultimately defeating the disease in 2009. As he was going through his fight, he spoke with Friedman for an 2007 “Inside Hockey” piece about the Canadiens captain and summed up exactly what kind of inspiration Koivu was and still remains to this day.
“I saw this guy that went through pretty much the same thing as me and look at what he’s doing today and how well he is,” LeClaire said.
“Now it’s been five years since he finished treatments, I’m thinking why can’t I?”
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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
