Saku Koivu’s days in Anaheim are over.
#NHLDucks Murray said he spoke to Koivu, Hiller and Winnik and informed them the team will not offer them contracts this offseason.
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) June 19, 2014
#NHLDucks Murray on Koivu: “It was the hardest decision of the three. He had a great career. We just have younger guys pushing for spots.” — Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) June 19, 2014
Such a decision is to disappoint Ducks fans that two well liked veterans in Teemu Selanne and Koivu would no longer be on the club. But the team really paying attention, or at least their fans, will be the Montreal Canadiens.
As the former captain and heart of the team, Koivu never really received a proper send off from the team. Unsigned in 2009 without even an offer made, Koivu found the team that drafted him abandoning him after an atrocious 2008-2009 100th Anniversary season. It would be unfair to blame Saku for the season or any of Montreal’s futility in his years as a Hab to get back to Cup contention, but it was pretty clear that Montreal needed a new image and new leadership. It isn’t a coincidence that in the five years since Koivu and others were abandoned in 2009, the Canadiens have made the Eastern Conference finals twice. They never made it beyond the second round in Koivu’s time in Montreal.
Such news brings a maelstrom of emotion and nostalgia from Habs fans in their 20s and 30s, hoping to see #11 once again return to the team he was a superstar on. Memories of the season he led the NHL in scoring before being injured. Memories of his return from cancer. Memories that shine a bright light during a dark era of the legendary Canadiens.
But Habs fans need to listen to what Ducks GM Bob Murray said on why he had to let Saku Koivu go. They were younger guys pushing for spots. Saku Koivu is of course a natural center and if entering the Montreal Canadiens, he’d be entering a team where David Desharnais, Tomas Plekanec, Lars Eller and Daniel Briere would all be ahead of him on the depth chart. That’s not even including Alex Galchenyuk, who still plays left wing waiting for a position at center to open up. The Ducks might have Ryan Getzlaf but their depth at center pales to the Canadiens. Pales to the point where they are openly on the market for a second line center and targeting the likes of Ryan Kesler and Jason Spezza according to rumours. For a team with a significant hole like that still stating loud and clear that Saku Koivu just doesn’t have a spot on the roster, it should remind the Canadiens of where they should stand.
But I understand the nostalgia and hope to see Koivu wearing the CH one more time. Not during a Heritage outdoors game where he plays for the team as a retired player but one last time in his active career. Saku Koivu was dealt a bad hand in Montreal and sometimes expected to do a job not because he was good enough to do it but because there was nobody else qualified to do it. Koivu was statistically a top 30 center but he wasn’t skilled enough to build an offensive core around. Koivu was an inspirational leader but his captaincy was marred by either being overshadowed by a veteran (Doug Gilmour) or dealing with teammates trying to take his spot (Mike Ribeiro and Alex Kovalev). The Canadiens locker room was constantly in turmoil during his tenure as captain, issues that should have been taken care of better by management. Saku Koivu was captain during a dark time, but the team might have been in even worse shape without the loyalty and tenacity of Saku.
It’s with that where the decision this time comes down to Saku Koivu. Does he feel he can play in the NHL for another season or does he feel it’s a good time to retire like Finnish friend Teemu Selanne? If Saku plans to play another season, he should not be considered at all as an option for the Montreal Canadiens. Habs GM Marc Bergevin was famously quoted after taking the position that (to paraphrase) the more decisions you make like a fan, the closer you end up to being unemployed and being just a fan. Saku Koivu doesn’t fit down the middle for the Canadiens and his veteran leadership role is already filled by Daniel Briere.
However, if Saku Koivu is ready to hang up the skates? That’s where Marc Bergevin can right some wrongs and give Saku the farewell he deserves. Not a standing ovation by the Bell Centre while Koivu wears Ducks colours but coming out in number bleu blanc et rouge, walking out on opening night for the Montreal Canadiens for one more game. A one game contract just so Saku Koivu can say he retired a Hab. He retired for the team that drafted him 21st overall in 1993. It would be a fitting way to finally put the past behind the team and ensure everyone recognizes that this is not the 90s or 00s anymore. It’s 2014 and the Canadiens are coming off an appearance in the Eastern Conference finals. The future is much brighter than it ever was with Koivu, but they couldn’t get here without him.
Koivu deserves a chance to say farewell, but there’s just no room for him to overstay that welcome.
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