Wild pursuing Saku Koivu to fill hole at center
The Koivu brothers could be united in Minnesota.
After committing $30 million over six years to Martin Havlat during the flurry of the first day of free agency, Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher turned his focus Thursday to Saku Koivu, the top center currently on the NHLs open market. Koivu would fill a glaring need at a critical position for Minnesota and, in turn, be able to play with his younger brother, Mikko.
In a conference call, Fletcher confirmed the teams desire to sign Koivu, who has played his entire career for the Montreal Canadiens. Saku is 34, eight years older than Mikko, who is the franchises clear cornerstone now that Marian Gaborik has signed with the New York Rangers.
Certainly, weve expressed some interest, Fletcher said. Hes a great hockey player. There arent a lot of centermen on the marketplace.
Theres certainly nobody of Sakus caliber out there.
Don Baizley, who serves as the agent for both brothers, declined to comment on the situation until Sakus contract is done.
That doesnt mean a deal will be done with Minnesota, of course, as Fletcher acknowledged.
Id be surprised if 10 or 15 teams havent reached out to him by this point, the GM said. Im not sure where the process will go, but hes a terrific hockey player.
I certainly sense some interest, but theres a lot of good situations out there for centermen.
Koivu has been with Montreal since 1995. He had 16 goals and 34 assists last season, right around his career averages for full seasons. He missed most of the 1999-2000 season because of a shoulder injury and most of the 2001-02 season while recovering from abdominal cancer.
Koivus parents, who live in Finland, certainly have their preference among Sakus many options.
Its one of their dreams for their kids to play on the same team, Mikko said earlier this week in an interview with the Star Tribune newspaper. Theres no doubt it would be special for all of us if it can happen, but well see.
If the Wild cant get him, they could try to trade for a center, though Fletcher indicated thats not likely. Returning players James Sheppard, Eric Belanger, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Benoit Pouliot are candidates to fill the other center spots.
Its a difficult commodity to find, Fletcher said, acknowledging he discussed with Mikko the possibility of playing with Saku.
The Wilds new boss said hes evaluating other free agents, too, but said the process could stretch over the next couple of weeks.
Also signed Wednesday was defenseman Greg Zanon, to a three-year contract worth $5.8 million, but theres likely an opening for another blue-liner on the roster.
We could still land somebody in the next day or two, or it may be a case where theres not much more in free agency and we wait to fill some holes via trade, Fletcher said.