Saku Koivu Retires After 18 Season NHL Career

Saku Koivu announced his retirement Wednesday after 18 seasons in the NHL playing for both the Montreal Canadiens and the Anaheim Ducks.

Koivu, 39, has played in over 1,100 games and appeared in four Olympics, representing his home country of Finland. He scored 255 goals and had 832 points in the regular season and 18 goals and 59 points in his playoff career. Koivu played his first 13 NHL season in Montreal, where he was named the first European-born captain of the Canadiens in 1999. Koivu signed with the Anaheim Ducks in 2009 and played for five seasons before calling it a career.

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“Looking back at my 22 years of pro hockey, first in Finland and then in the NHL, I feel truly blessed and fulfilled,” Koivu said in a statement released by the NHL Player’s Association. “I have been contemplating retirement for quite some time and am very confident in my decision at this time and place.”

Koivu was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and missed the majority of the 2001-02 season while undergoing chemotherapy. He returned just in time to play in the final three regular season games, helping Montreal earn a playoff spot. He went on to have the best season of his career a few years later in 2005-06, scoring 22 goals and 53 assists with the Canadiens.

Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said Wednesday of Saku’s career, “He was a great attribute to us. He’s a great human being, and everything he did was well-deserved. I want to congratulate him and thank him for the years.”