tsn.ca
7/8/2009 1:45:46 PM
After spending his entire 13-year career in Montreal, Saku Koivu will be calling Orange County his home as the Anaheim Ducks have signed the free agent centre to a one-year, $3.25 million contract.
Koivu, 34, had been the Canadiens’ second-longest serving captain. His nine seasons with the ‘C’ trailed only the legendary Jean Beliveau, who was captain for 10 seasons.
The move to Anaheim reunites Koivu with fellow countryman Teemu Selanne. The duo helped Finland earn a silver medal at the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin, Italy.
“I’m very excited to join the Ducks this coming season,” Koivu said in a statement. “I’m also looking forward to a full season with Teemu Selanne as a teammate.”
Koivu, who was drafted by the Canadiens with the 21st overall pick in the 1993 draft, hoped to stay with Habs but realized if a deal did not get completed quickly, he would likely look elsewhere.
“If I’m not signed by July 1, I don’t think I’ll be back in Montreal,” Koivu said after the Canadiens were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Boston Bruins. “Finishing your career with one team would be awesome in a way, but it’s too early to say because I don’t know what the team’s plan is.”
Koivu, one of the club’s most celebrated players in its 100-year history, had a great deal of hard luck in Montreal. He suffered a potentially career-ending eye injury in 2006 in the playoffs against the Hurricanes and missed most of the 2001-02 season with Intra-abdominal non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Koivu has suited up in 792 games and has scored 191 goals with 450 assists. He played in only 65 games for the Habs in 2008-09 after dealing with a foot injury. He scored 16 goals and posted 36 assists.
“Saku Koivu‘s character and leadership qualities are unquestioned,” said general Manager Bob Murray in a team statement on Wednesday. “He is a skilled playmaker and we are thrilled to add him to our team.”