In a bit of a surprise mid-season announcement, former Minnesota Wild captain and the franchise's all-time leader in points, assists and games has announced his intentions to retire from the National Hockey League.
"This was not an easy decision for me as I have loved every minute of my short time in Columbus," Koivu said in a statement released earlier today. "I haven't been able to get to the level of play that I need to be true to myself and fair to my teammates, so the time is right for me to retire from hockey...I have been extremely blessed and I am eternally grateful to the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets organizations for the opportunities they have given me to live out my dreams of playing in the National Hockey League for the past 16 years."
Koivu played 1,028 games for the Minnesota Wild scoring 205 goals with 504 assists and 709 career points.
The Wild and Koivu parted ways after last season and Mikko landed with the Columbus Blue Jackets appearing in 7 games with one goal and one assist on the season.