Wilderness Walk: Mikko Koivu Forever

That’s Wild

• Before the Minnesota Wild took on the Nashville Predators on Sunday, it was all about Mikko Koivu’s jersey retirement, and that was well deserved. It started with an incredible entrance by the man of the hour.

The cheers starter to smatter through the crowd that was present for the ceremony, even before Koivu got a word in.

And he just had to show some appreciation for the State of Hockey, considering how much he means to us.

Koivu then went on to thank all of his teammates and described how much he misses hanging out with them throughout gamedays.

And then, with his family by his side, Koivu witnessed his no. 9 get lifted into the rafters of the Xcel Energy Center forever. No one will wear his jersey number again and he certainly deserves at least that.

It’s okay to cry.

• In case you want to be convinced after Sunday, here’s our blog about why Koivu deserves to be the Wild’s first retired number and even more so. [Hockey Wilderness]
• Outside of the Koivu fanfare, the Wild have a difficult week ahead of them as there is just seven days remaining until the trade deadline on March 21. Well, if they end up wanting to sell off some pieces, they have some options to do exactly that. [Hockey Wilderness]
• While it appears that Jack McBain is certainly heading out the door, if he does sign with the Wild, there will be opportunities. [10K Rinks]