Name: Wild offseason update: End of an era for Mikko Koivu? Plus, trade/buyout banter
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Wild offseason update: End of an era for Mikko Koivu? Plus, trade/buyout banter

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Sep 9, 2020A month into the ’s offseason, we thought it would be a good time to provide an update on what’s been going on beyond the hiring of .First, the most significant, albeit not unexpected, news: It’s very likely that we have seen the last of in a Wild sweater and that his fifth contract — a two-year, $11 million deal signed in 2017 — will be the final pact he signs with the franchise that drafted him sixth overall 19 years ago.The Wild are looking to upgrade up the middle and get younger and faster. With Koivu now 37, the Wild are expected to move on from the club’s all-time leading scorer after his role diminished significantly last season.It’s believed general manager Bill Guerin informed Koivu in their end-of-season exit meeting last month because Koivu, who remains in the Twin Cities, has told confidants and others over the past few weeks that his time playing for the Wild is over, sources said.If so, it really would be an end of an era.Koivu has been a fixture with the Wild for almost as long as the franchise’s inception.He was selected in the first round in the 2001 NHL Draft in South Florida. That was 7,018 days ago.Four years later, Koivu debuted and for the past 15 years wore a Wild sweater.He has played for the only two majority owners the Wild have known, all four general managers and all six head coaches.Koivu has had 210 teammates.The franchise’s one and only permanent captain is also the franchise’s all-time leader in games played (1,028), points (709), assists (504), even-strength assists (298), even-strength points (433), power-play points (251), power-play assists (191), shorthanded assists (15), shorthanded points (25), plus-minus (plus-70), shots (2,270), shifts (25,769), multi-point games (153), shootout goals (42) and faceoff winning percentage (.537). He’s tied for first in overtime goals (five) and ranks second in goals (205), penalty minutes (592), power-play goals (60), even-strength goals (135) and shorthanded goals (10) and third in game-winning goals (33).He has won 10,354 faceoffs, 6,941 more than the next closest teammate. He has logged 19,718 minutes, roughly 3,230 more than the next closest teammate.Back in November, Koivu became the 54th NHL player and 20th center to appear in his first 1,000 games with the same team. , Koivu scored the shootout winner with his signature move and was mobbed on the bench after. If Koivu retires from the NHL, Koivu would become the 39th player to play 1,000 or more games all with one franchise.1,000th game: ✅700th point: ✅Shootout winner: ✅Mikko Koivu was on one today.— NHL (@NHL)One of the sport’s top two-way forwards during his career, if his time with the Wild is in fact over:— Retire from hockey and move on to his post-playing career;— Sign as a free agent with another NHL team, something he may not want to do. Remember, in February, after declining to waive his no-move clause, ;— Wrap up his playing career by signing back with his hometown Finnish Elite League team, Turku, something he did not rule out back in the springtime.If Koivu’s playing career is over, Guerin indicated last month during a The Athletic podcast that the Wild would be willing to find Koivu a role in some capacity inside the organization that would allow him to work either in Minnesota or overseas.Koivu just completed his 11th season as full-time Wild captain and was the NHL’s fourth-longest tenured captain behind Boston’s , Pittsburgh’s and Chicago’s . But the NHL actually considers Koivu the captain in 2008-09 because he wore the “C” every month but two during Jacques Lemaire’s old rotating captaincy system.According to the NHL, Koivu is one of 12 players in NHL history who were captain or co-captain for all or part of 12 or more consecutive seasons with one franchise.The Wild have never retired a player’s jersey, but if they were to start, Koivu’s No. 9 could very well be the first to rise to Xcel Energy Center’s rafters when it’s all over.According to multiple league sources, Guerin has had a lot of trade conversations that have bordered from sensible to ridiculous.This is the time of the offseason where GMs often try to acquire a Rolls-Royce for a Pinto, especially when you’re calling a GM that was as candid as Guerin was publicly about his disappointment with the Wild’s season overall and their four-game bow-out against the in the qualifying round.There’s probably nobody on the Wild roster that’s untouchable, although up-and-coming and soon-to-be-debuting, long-awaited prospect Kirill Kaprizov would be the closest to that label.The good news about trade conversations, even when they’re nonsensical, you quickly discover what player or players interest another team and seeds can be planted that may eventually sprout a deal. In all likelihood, the most popular players Guerin is being called about are defensemen and .If Guerin is to consider trading either, one would assume his biggest desire would be a top-six center as part of the trade package.If Guerin would consider trading Dumba — and we’re hearing that his name is being talked about a lot — one would assume Guerin will first want to have a Brodin contract extension agreed upon.is probably Guerin’s biggest priority right now. Brodin is entering the final year of his contract, and if re-signing him is going to be out of bounds of what Guerin feels the value is for a solid defensive defenseman that doesn’t produce a lot offensively, a trade is possible.But there’s probably a price for anybody on the Wild roster, including young forwards , and .Remember, too, . And if there’s a chance could be on next year’s roster, Guerin could look to move one or both of his goaltenders, and .It’s also very likely that Guerin will look to . A deal came close before the trade deadline last winter. No trade can be made until the Islanders’ season is over, and it’s uncertain if GM Lou Lamoriello even remains interested in acquiring Parise, whom he drafted and made captain in New Jersey.The all-time leading goal-scorer amongst Minnesota-born players led the Wild in goal-scoring last season, but Parise is 36 with five years left on his contract and will start to see a decreasing role in the coming years. So, like Koivu, Guerin may feel it’s time to change things up inside the Wild and entertain a chance to get younger and move Parise’s contract.It’s early, too, but as of now, the Wild haven’t made a lot of headway toward re-signing potential unrestricted free agent .While the NHL Draft will take place Oct. 6-7 and free agency begins Oct. 9, the first buyout window opens Sept. 25 and lasts until Oct. 8.Two buyout candidates include Dubnyk and center . Neither is guaranteed to be bought out, but if the Wild can’t trade either player and want to free up roster spots to acquire replacements, buyouts are an option.The likeliest would be Dubnyk because his game has slipped the past two years and Guerin has made it crystal clear that the goaltending must improve next season.Dubnyk, 34, is entering the final year of his six-year, $26-million contract signed after his masterful second-half debut with the Wild in 2015. Saving the Wild’s season after his arrival earned Dubnyk the Masterton Trophy and a Vezina Trophy nomination.Dubnyk has a modified no-trade clause in which he can be traded to 19 teams submitted last summer.The way his contract was structured a few days after the NHL Awards Show in 2015, was set at $4.33 million but his salary was set for $2.5 million next season. That makes him a fairly reasonable buyout option if Guerin’s so inclined. A buyout would cost the Wild $1.667 million and they’d be charged a cap hit of $2.667 million next season and $833,333 in 2021-22.The inexpensive salary could also make him attractive to other teams via trade.Rask, 27, scored five goals in 43 games and didn’t play in the playoffs. Instead of two more years of , a buyout would cost the Wild four more years of $1.33 million cap hits.&nbsp;But in a league where it’s hard to acquire centers, Guerin could determine that Rask would be a good insurance policy to keep around and a buyout simply isn’t worth it.(Top photo: Brett Holmes / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images; Charts: Capfriendly.com)

Sep 9, 2020A month into the ’s offseason, we thought it would be a good time to provide an update on what’s been going on beyond the hiring of .First, the most significant, albeit not unexpected, news: It’s very likely that we have seen the last of in a Wild sweater and that his fifth contract — a two-year, $11 million deal signed in 2017 — will be the final pact he signs with the franchise that drafted him sixth overall 19 years ago.The Wild are looking to upgrade up the middle and get younger and faster. With Koivu now 37, the Wild are expected to move on from the club’s all-time leading...

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Michael Russo

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Wild offseason update: End of an era for Mikko Koivu? Plus, trade/buyout banter

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