Saku Koivu In A Different Place

from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail, The he NHL’s schedule maker occasionally shows a keen sense of timing – and nowhere is that more evident than in the first full week of the 2009-10 regular season. We get to see Koivu v. Koivu right off the top and the chance to revisit the decision made by the former Montreal Canadiens captain to seek his fortune in sunny California.... Even with a game against younger brother Mikko’s Minnesota Wild next up on the schedule, Koivu’s inquisitors amounted to exactly two reporters. It is just one of the many culture changes for the 34-year-old, who was told by the Canadiens last June that after nine years as team captain, they were going down a different path. Koivu pondered the Wild as an option, but ultimately chose to join old friend and Finnish countryman Teemu Selanne with the Ducks – about as radical a move as possible within the geography and culture of the NHL. Even though they’ve played together on national teams in the past, it so far hasn’t exactly been a match made in hockey heaven. read on