The Minnesota Wild have announced that they will be without their captain Mikko Koivu for the remainder of the season. Koivu will undergo surgery on Friday to repair a torn ACL and meniscus in his right knee.
NEWS: Mikko Koivu will miss the remainder of the season after suffering a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament & meniscus in his right knee. He is expected to have surgery to repair his knee on Friday.
📰 → https://t.co/hXhJMOvN9f #mnwild pic.twitter.com/Pf2hDGnRCl— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) February 6, 2019
Wild Captain Mikko Koivu Out for the Season
The injury occurred in Tuesday night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres when Koivu went knee-on-knee with Sabres forward Tage Thompson in the first period.
In 48 games this season, Koivu has scored eight goals and added 21 assists for 29 points.
Over his career, Koivu has scored 201 goals and 487 assists for 688 points in 973 games.
Koivu was originally drafted by the Wild sixth overall in the 2001 NHL entry draft. He was named team captain on October 20th, 2009.
What This Means for the Future
Losing Koivu is a massive blow to the Minnesota Wild who are already without another one of their top players in Mathew Dumba. Also, at 35-years-old, an injury of this magnitude could be detrimental to Koivu’s career. Koivu will be facing a lengthy recovery time.
With Koivu out, the Wild have recalled Swedish centre Joel Eriksson Ek from their AHL affiliate Iowa Wild. In 36 games with Minnesota this season, Eriksson Ek has scored two goals and added five assists for seven points. In nine games in the AHL, he has scored four goals and five assists for nine points.
Eriksson Ek was drafted by the Wild in the first round, 20th overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. In 126 games over his career, he has scored 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points.
Eriksson Ek hasn’t provided a whole lot of offence so far during his short NHL career, but he does possess a solid two-way game. He’s also only 22 years old so there’s still loads of time for him to fine-tune his game to become an everyday NHL player. While it’s unknown where he will slot into the lineup, he will certainly try to seize this opportunity. The Wild will certainly look to him, as well as Luke Kunin to step up in Koivu’s absence. Kunin filled Koivu’s position between Zach Parise and Charlie Coyle for the remainder of the game against Buffalo.
The Wild will play host to the struggling Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night, as they look to hold onto the top wild-card position in the Western Conference.
DETROIT, MI – MARCH 26: Mikko Koivu #9 of the Minnesota Wild looks to get off a shot in front of Dylan Larkin #71 of the Detroit Red Wings during the third period at Joe Louis Arena on March 26, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit won the game 3-2 in overtime. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
