Why the Rest of the Hockey World Is Wrong on the Koivu Signing

As I browsed around various internet discussion boards and websites late Thursday, I can't say that I was surprised that everyone outside of the State of Hockey was claiming how "Koivu is now over-paid," "is over-rated," and "Koivu only received this type of money because he is the Wild's captain and best player."

Seemingly, the only things that seems to matter to everyone else is stats. Of course you need to be able to put up points. That's how teams win hockey games.

From site to site, a common comparison that most fans (Canadian fans mostly, but to be more specific, Vancouver fans) brought up was the similarities between Ryan Kesler and Koivu.

Can I get a WTF?

Kesler? Don't get me wrong. Kesler is a good player; a damn good one in fact. But I'd like to see how Kesler would be at centering a line with one of the slowest wingers known to mankind in Andrew Brunette and at the opposite side a guy who misses the net more often than he hits it in Antti Miettinen.

You look at the Wild's "first line" and you sometimes wonder just how long it will be before the Wild fully recovers from the disaster that former General Manager Doug Risebrough put together during his tenure here.

But then again Koivu, at 27 years of age, is a 0.70 point-per-game player. Not too bad if you consider who his linemates are. Also of note is that typically in the NHL the "first line" is met by the opponent's shut-down line.

But what about Ryan Kesler? Well how about a little comparison, eh?

Salary Cap Hit:	$6,675,000	$5,000,000
Seasons Played:	5	6
Games Played:	362	402
Goals:	79	90
Assists:	176	125
Points:	255	215
Points per Game:	.70	.53

Offensively speaking, looks to me like Koivu is better than Ryan Kesler hands down. Better points per game, more career points and all in less games played with sub-par talent surrounding him thus-far in his career.

Does this justify Koivu making almost $1.7 million per year more than Kesler? That's debatable. In my opinion it is. But why just compare Koivu to Kesler? Kesler is small game. Let's compare Koivu to the rest of the NHL's top centermen.

Only Sidney Crosby last season won more faceoffs during the 2009-2010 campaign than Koivu. Koivu was also seventh in the NHL in average time-on-ice for a centerman.

A lot of people also like to debate the fact that Koivu doesn't have the offensive potential as other top forwards in the league.

To them, I ask a simple question. Where are points most easily scored? The power play. Let's jump there.

Last season, Koivu ranked ninth in power play points for a center. The names in front of him? Steven Stamkos, Brad Richards, Anze Kopitar, Nicklas Backstrom, Sidney Crosby, Mike Richards, Joe Thornton and Evgeni Malkin.

Average total points for these players last year? A little over 88 points. Not too bad of company to be associated with (Koivu had 71 points last year).

How about average salary cap hit for these same eight players? $6.48 million (which included Stamkos' tiny salary cap hit of $875,000 per year which is sure to definitely rise when the Lightning extend him).

Using just these eight centers, Koivu's scores nearly as often as them on the power play and makes the same amount of money as them. So where is the complaint coming from that he is over-paid?

Could it be that current GM Chuck Fletcher is on to something?

Maybe.

How about total points amongst centers. Can't just use the power play for information.

During the 2009-2010 season, Koivu finished 11th in total league scoring behind (in order): Henrik Sedin, Sidney Crosby, Nicklas Backstrom, Steven Stamkos, Brad Richards, Joe Thornton, Anze Kopitar, Paul Stastny, Evgeni Malkin and Ryan Kesler.

How about some centers he actually out-scored last year? Eric Staal, Pavel Datsyuk, Vincent Lecavalier, Derek Roy, Ryan Getzlaf, Jonathan Toews, Travis Zajac, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Scott Gomez and Jason Spezza.

Or in other words, nearly half of the NHL's teams' top centers.

All this while playing on the Western Conference's third worst team last year on arguably the worst "first-line" in the entire NHL. When you actually get down to the numbers, not only does the salary make sense, it looks like a bargain. As all Wild die-hards know, Koivu's value to the Red & Green isn't just on the stat sheet. It's his all-around game, his work ethic and his leadership that fans have come to fall in love with and appreciate.

"Mikko possesses all the qualities you want your leader to have," head coach Todd Richards said at the time Koivu was named captain last season. "He is passionate, has a great work ethic and competes for everything. The way Mikko plays defines him as the leader of our team."

Chuck Fletcher said, "How many centermen 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 centerman like him on the open market since we've had the new CBA."

I personally couldn't have said it any better. The fact is, Mikko displays not only heart and determination, but also is able to put up points just as well as most other centers do in the NHL.

So how exactly again is Mikko Koivu over-paid? He isn't. If anything, the Wild just got him for a bargain. Year after year, Koivu impresses more and more.

The ironic part? Over the past couple of seasons, the Koivu has lost a tremendous amount of scoring talent around him (Brian Rolston, Pavol Demitra, Marian Gaborik & Pierre-Marc Bouchard due to injury), and he has only seemed to get better.

Many around the league (fans and journalists alike) still question the contract Koivu received stating the Koivu isn't capable of putting up offensive numbers that justify his big pay-raise.

"How do you know?" said Fletcher on a conference call Thursday night. Fact is, he gets better each year and his best days look to be ahead of him.

In reality, one can sit and compare stats until we are all blue in the face. The simple fact is that unless you are a die-hard Minnesota Wild fan that watches every shift that Koivu plays, you have no idea what you're talking about when you are attempting to justify whether Koivu is worth the money he makes.

Mikko will get you 70+ points per season while also preventing countless goals scored by the opposing team. The solid two-way game that Koivu plays is like having a third defensemen in front of your goalie. He is that good and in my opinion, there is not a better defensive forward in the NHL today. Having him being able to put up the numbers he does all by himself while passing up on countless scoring chances just to make sure there isn't an odd-man rush the other way makes him even more impressive.

The point that I can not re-iterate enough is that Koivu continues to get better year after year. Statistically speaking, the past two seasons Koivu and Jonathan Toews couldn't be more alike. Look at the talent Toews plays with and look at the talent Mikko has. Enough said.

If Fletcher can continue to build the roster over the next couple of seasons by surrounding Koivu with more talent, his stats are really going to explode. Once Brunette and Miettinen are off the payroll next offseason, hopefully Latendresse and Havlat can move up to the first line where the Wild will really have a terrific top line.

I think over time it will be evident that the big pay raise of Koivu on Thursday was not only a fair contract, but a just one; one that I am extremely excited about knowing that the State of Hockey has one of the best centers in the entire NHL locked up for years to come.