Mikko Koivu signs 2-year, $11 million contract extension

Now in his 13th season with the Wild, Koivu is the Wild's all-time leader in seven statistical categories. He would have been an unrestricted free agent after this season.

September 19, 2017 at 12:26AM
Just before the puck dropped on the Wild's preseason opener at Winnipeg, the team announced captain Mikko Koivu has signed a two-year, $11 million contract extension.
Just before the puck dropped on the Wild's preseason opener at Winnipeg, the team announced captain Mikko Koivu has signed a two-year, $11 million contract extension. (Brian Wicker — Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Just before the puck dropped on the Wild's preseason opener at Winnipeg, the team announced captain Mikko Koivu has signed a two-year, $11 million contract extension.

Koivu, 34, was set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season. Instead, he will remain with the Wild through 2019-20. The deal will pay Koivu $6 million in 2018-19 and $5 million in 2019-20.

He is in the final season of a seven-year, $47.25 million deal.

Now in his 13th season with the Wild, Koivu is the franchise's all-time leader in seven statistical categories, including games played (843), assists (435) and points (614). He had 58 points last season, the fourth-highest total of his career and his most since 2010-11. His 18 goals were the most he had scored in a season since 2009-10.

The No. 6 overall pick in the 2001 draft, Koivu remains the only full-time captain the Wild has ever had, having been given the job in 2009. He was a finalist for the NHL's Selke Trophy last season, given to the league's best defensive forward.

Koivu was tied for 16th among NHL forwards with 65 blocked shots, a career best. He also was fifth in the league in faceoff wins (938) and was tied for eighth with a career-best plus-minus rating of plus-27.

The longest contracts on the Wild belong to Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, who signed identical 13-year, $98 million deals in 2012.

about the writer

about the writer

Rachel Blount

Reporter/Columnist

Rachel Blount is a sports reporter for the Minnesota Star Tribune who covers a variety of topics, including the Olympics, Wild, college sports and horse racing. She has written extensively about Minnesota's Olympic athletes and has covered pro and college hockey since joining the staff in 1990.

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