Mikko Koivu Becomes Minnesota Wild Career Points Leader

Heading into Tuesday's game against the New York Islanders, Minnesota Wild captain Mikko Koivu needed two points to match Marian Gaborik's franchise record of 437 points. Three assists later, Koivu stood alone atop the franchise scoring list, with his 438 points (and counting) in a Wild uniform the new standard, per the Star Tribune.

Koivu has been an assists machine for the Wild this season, with 32 helpers in just 52 games. However, he'd been struggling in recent weeks, after making a March 3 return from an ankle procedure that kept him sidelined for two full months. With just two points (both assists) in his first seven games back from the injury, the Finnish center wasn't looking like his typically productive self—until Tuesday, that is.

With one key Wild record in hand, the 31-year-old Koivu can take aim at the rest of the franchise record book in the coming seasons. He's spent his entire nine-year career in Minnesota, representing the Wild in all but four of the young franchise's seasons.

Koivu's 311 career assists already set the pace in franchise history, leaving goals and games played as the key records left to capture.

With 588 appearances in a Wild uniform, he ranks second in franchise history, 155 games behind current Blue Jackets defenseman Nick Schultz (743). Meanwhile, Koivu's 127 goals fall well short (92, to be exact) of the 219 that Gaborik—now a member of the Los Angeles Kings— scored for the Wild. Always known as more of a playmaker than a scorer, Koivu would likely need at least three or four more seasons to pass Gaborik.

Of course, with his contract running through the 2017-18 campaign, per USA Today, Koivu should have plenty of time to catch Schultz, and perhaps even Gaborik.