Saku Koivu - Available Free Agents

Last summer the excitement level about Saku Koivu was off the charts. Wild fans were down right giddy over the idea. Imagine Mikko and Saku on the same squad. Saku solves the number two spot without question, but it is only very short term if it is a solution. When he turned down the offer out of respect for his brother, Saku dashed hopes of beat writers and fans alike.

Would Saku be willing to over look the media circus and the brotherly issues he foresaw when turning down the offer last season? Would he even be an option at this juncture? We put our thoughts out there. What are yours?

Saku Koivu

#11 / Center / Anaheim Ducks

Height: 5-10

Weight: 182

Born: Nov 23, 1974

Current Cap Hit: $3.25 million

Nathan: Seriously people, didn't he already say he didn't want to play with Mikko? Good lord, let it go.

Verdict: Only if the front of the sweater says "Suomi"

Buddha: Ugh. Not again. Let's keep this one short. Not going to happen. Moving on.

Verdict: Not in this lifetime.

JS: He's a big question mark because last year, Saku didn't want to get in Mikko's way and they judged it would be for the best if they stayed separated (Which seems kind of pompous of Saku; how dare he believe he would pose any threat to Mikko?). Personally, his last year in MTL made me seriously doubt his leadership skills, but nonetheless he's a good faceoff man and he still notched a solid 52 points in 71 games. I also know for a fact that he played a couple of games with BTE on his wing and the result wasn't too bad, it would be interesting to see what he could do with the new BTE (if BTE plays the way he played with the Wild). It could be said that Saku's on the decline, but his best season was three years ago and from then on out, he consistently put up at least 50 points a year, which is just what the doctor ordered for this team. Interestingly enough, he ended the season scoring 11points in the last 5 games! Now that M.K is our permanent captain, there shouldn't be any worries about Saku "taking over the team". He would have to accept a pay cut to come here though.

Verdict: 2 years, 2.5 - 3 million per year.