Mikko Gets a 7 year extension

Link here



If anyone finds out the cap hit please post it? I cant find it anywhere yet.

NVM got it:

Russo's Twitter: Sources: Koivu's deal is 7 years, $47.25 million. $6.75 AAV, no-trade, 5 signing bonuses throughout. Richest deal in #mnwild history

NICE!

FUCK.....YES.

at first it seems like too much money compared to like a mike richards cap hit. but someone else compared it to toews's deal and that makes it easier to take.

Steep but absolutely necessary.

It's a 7 year deal and he has yet to reach his prime. It makes sense you are going to have to pay a little more to get a player to commit to that kind of term. The discounts don't come on long term deals until you get to the absurd lengths that Hossa and Luongo are getting paid for.

This is right around what should be expected for Mikko on this length of deal IMO.

remember that some of this is bonuses so they can be deferred i think a year if need be.

also given what Koivu brings he's worth it.

also chew on this, it's the 15th and all our guys are signed. so g;ad roser is gone

Go to the photo gallery on Wild.com and check out the latest gallery for Mikko. Love, love, love pic #8! Wonder what the kid said to get that reaction....

Pioneer Press

Quote :

General manager Chuck Fletcher, who in the wake of a dismal 13th-place finish in the NHL's Western Conference has been more active than a political candidate, said no task on his agenda was more important this summer than re-signing the 27-year-old Finnish Olympian whose contract was due to expire after next season.

Koivu agreed. He was around when Marian Gaborik's contract limbo dragged through a final season, calling such a scenario "not good for the team." When negotiations began three weeks ago, Koivu urged agent Don Baizley to work with Fletcher.

Fletcher thanked Koivu for that, noting he's a player to "build our team around."

Another reason I like the kid.

Koivu is great, he brings everything to the team, he's by far my favorite player and i'm glad we have him for 7 more years, 8 if you count this season.

now all we need to do is get him a shooting winger, think Wellman might fit the bill?

Mikko Koivu signs 7-year deal with Wild

Mikko Koivu signs a seven-year $47.25 million deal and other Wild signings

Written by Derek Felska
Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:36

Former President of the United States George W. Bush got a little confused during a speech when he attempted to recall an old axiom as he said, "You know there is an old saying in Texas, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice (long pause)...you can't fool me again." Of course the axiom he was trying to say was "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me." A few seasons ago former Wild General Manager Doug Risebrough was fooled by its star franchise player at the time Marian Gaborik and his agent Ron Salcer. Gaborik and Salcer played coy all summer long in 2008, and Risebrough took a very patient approach as he assumed the Slovakian sniper would jump at the offer he'd make just prior to the opening of training camp. When Risebrough finally made his pitch, a deal that would've paid Gaborik around $7.5 million per season on a six-year contract. Gaborik waited and Risebrough seemed to be in no hurry to make the prized scorer to sign a deal. Shortly into training camp Gaborik hurts himself and is lost for the majority of the season and does not return to the lineup until after the trade deadline robbing the team at least a chance at trading him for some heavy compensation in return. Risebrough desperately tried a late plea to keep him in Minnesota but Gaborik decided to test the free agency waters and ended up signing a similar deal with the New York Rangers. With that, the most prolific scorer the franchise had ever drafted left the organization for absolutely nothing in return and a loss the for the team that still reverberates until today. So in an effort not to suffer the same fate twice, the Minnesota Wild locked down its most complete player by signing team captain Mikko Koivu to a seven year, $47.25 million deal. The deal will compensate Koivu an average of $5.4 million per season, with alternating bonuses of $1.89 million every other season before the final year of the deal where he'll make a whopping $9.18 million.

At 27, Koivu is entering the prime of his career and has been the team's most complete player each of the last two seasons registering 22 goals and 49 assists in 80 games. The center told reporters in a conference call taken by Koivu from Finland that he did not want to play this season with this matter still up in the air, adding, "It was easy and very fast, and I think that's the way we both wanted." As a fan it is great to see this type of drama not drawn out and possibly turn ugly and anxious as it was when the team allowed Gaborik to leave as well as Brian Rolston. The deal does seem a tad bit high at first glance but he is the pre-eminent team player and as of right now the most valuable asset the team has and I have little doubt he'd score more points if he had more talented linemates. No offense to Andrew Brunette and Antti Miettinen but Koivu would easily have another 20 points if they were better finishers. Koivu will never be a Gaborik-like goal scorer but without question he possesses way more leadership and heart than the Slovak sniper ever did. Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher makes it sound like a huge weight was lifted off of his shoulders telling TSN.ca, "How many centremen are really better than Mikko, when you break it down? I think it's a very fair contract. Let's not kid ourselves. If he got to July 1, 2011, he would've had several teams making very lucrative offers to him. I'm not sure there's been a centreman like him on the open market since we've had the new CBA." Pretty confident praise from Fletcher, and while I agree that there are few players in the NHL that are as complete as Mikko Koivu in terms of his ability to contribute at both ends of the ice but I do think the Wild overpaid. Yet give Fletcher for being far more proactive than Doug Risebrough would've been. (click on the link for the rest of the article)

Enjoy...you might like the tsn stuff!

OTH, do you still have that Captain Koivu image you made?

YES! That's the one! Russo needs that for his headline!

Kaptain Koivu signs monster extension



Posted by Michael Russo
Last update: July 15, 2010 - 5:59 PM

When I wrote this story June 30 (click link) about how Mikko Koivu wanted to stay here and believed in the current regime, I got a bunch of emails from worried Wild fans adamant that this would be Marian Gaborik Part II.

They thought Mikko was just saying all the right things to a reporter, but this would wind up being another Wild player leaving in an ugly fashion.

Hey, there were justifiable reasons to feel that way, but then this afternoon in a shocking announcement just by virtue of how quickly it happened after July 1, Kaptain Koivu signed a seven-year, $47.25 million extension -- the richest deal in franchise history.

The contract is a cap hit of $6.75 million starting in 2011-12. He'll get seven annual salaries of $5.4 million, with $1.89 million signing bonuses in Oct. 2011, Oct. 2013, Oct. 2015, Oct. 2017 and Jan. 2018.

There is a full no-trade clause.

We have a 6 p.m. conference call with Koivu and GM Chuck Fletcher, but through sources, I'm told this got done quickly for two reasons:

-- Mikko was adamant that he wanted a seven-year deal and the Wild, instead of starting lower or higher, offered seven years.

-- Mikko's agent was adamant that he'd get $7 million on the open market, and frankly, the Wild agreed.

So there were no games or mixed messages from either side. The Wild wanted Koivu, Koivu wanted to stay, and the deal got done.

Huge money, but I'd say this: Koivu is the one player I wouldn't worry about giving a seven-year deal to.


“I am pleased to announce that our captain, Mikko Koivu, has signed a seven-year contract extension which will keep him in a Wild uniform through the 2017-18 season,” said Fletcher. “This is an historic day for the Wild. Mikko is the flag in the ground that we will build our team around. He is our franchise player, an excellent leader and an exceptional hockey player.”

Koivu, 27 (3/12/83), led the Wild in points (71) and assists (49) for the second consecutive season and set new career highs in goals (22), assists and points in 2009-10. His assist total was one shy of the Wild record set by Pierre-Marc Bouchard in 2007-08 and his point total was the third highest in club history. The 6-foot-2, 214-pound center also led the team with 20 multi-point games. Koivu ranked second in the NHL in face-offs won, seventh in faceoffs taken and eighth in faceoff percentage (56.9). He also ranked tied for 16th in the NHL in assists, tied for 23rd in scoring and 16th amongst forwards in average time on ice (20:44).

He was named the first full-time captain in team history on Oct. 20, 2009 and has appeared in 362 games with Minnesota tallying 255 points (79-176=255) and 256 PIM in five seasons. Koivu owns 58 career multi-point games and the Wild is 42-11-5 in those contests. He ranks tied for second on the Wild’s all-time list in SHG (seven), third in assists, multi-point games and shots (884), fourth in points, fifth in goals and seventh in games played. Koivu has won 52.8% of faceoffs in his career.

He has represented Finland at the last two Winter Olympics recording four assists in six games to earn a bronze medal at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and captured a silver medal at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy. The native of Turku, Finland, was originally selected by Minnesota in the first round (No. 6) of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

Only Wild fans (along some of the media) seem to understand that this contract isn't just about stats. It's about his value to the club as a whole. Long story short.....the Wild couldn't lose him. His rank of importance to this club is way higher than it may have been on most other teams with better rosters. That increased the price alone. That is why he will be getting paid more than some other players with better stats.

After many ugly contract discussions with Gabby over the years and then the final result of that, I was praying that Fletcher would tip toe around Koivu not creating any hard feelings with him.

Club didn't have a choice......you lose two (or even just tick off) two franchise players in less than three years, you might as well quit altogether. While Koivu has always said that this is his second home, he (and his agent) knew that they had a gun aimed at Fletcher.

Still... AT MOST it's only $250-500k overpayment. That is certainly nothing to cry about. This is a good deal for a franchise player plain and simple.

I just found this on a Finnish website, used Google translator to read it...

Mikko delays Military service yet again...

Quote :

Mikko Koivu were forced to leave military service
07/13/2010 20:36

Mikko Koivu had to enter the army yesterday gray Säkylä. Näin ei kuitenkaan vielä käynyt. This is not the case yet.

- It is true, should have been. But last season, games were born in the late spring injuries requiring surgical treatment. Mikko Koivu kertoi MTV3:lle. It was not because of my now possible to go inttiin, Mikko Koivu told MTV3.

- Was transferred to military service, the Minnesota Wild captain added.

Case, there is no ambiguity.

- It has all the medical certificates and papers fine. No I got no other comments, the central striker said.

Obviously, you can piece together from that rough translation that Mikko was supposed to report for military service, but due to his injuries from last season, he has been given permission to put it off even longer.

Granlund can put off his military service as long as need be as well if he has to... I couldn't believe it when I read that Mikko STILL hasn't served his military time yet!

I thought that's why he didn't come to the Wild the first few years after being drafted... that he was doing his military service.

Apparently not...

Ripoff! we should've used the loophole like the wings, canucks, flyers, blackhawks, etc. Look where it got them (playoffs, finals). Wild just keep falling behind : (

TaLoN wrote:

Still... AT MOST it's only $250-500k overpayment. That is certainly nothing to cry about. This is a good deal for a franchise player plain and simple.

Which means in 2-3 years that slight overpayment today will balance out and his cap hit will probably be an "ain't no thing" situation then. I've got zero problem with his contract. Great length and fair monetary terms for what he bring to the Wild.