ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Mikko Koivu’s extraordinary profession with the Minnesota Wild is over.

Normal supervisor Invoice Guerin mentioned Friday the group is not going to resign the 37-year-old Finn, whose contract is expiring.

Koivu is the one full-time captain the membership has had – he was appointed in 2009 after the position was rotated month-to-month over the primary 9 years of the franchise. He’s the all-time Wild chief in video games, assists, factors and several other different classes,

Koivu returned from reconstructive proper knee surgical procedure for a 15th season and had 4 objectives and 17 assists in 55 video games whereas enjoying totally on the fourth line.

”His laborious work, dedication and team-first mentality will probably be extraordinarily tough to exchange in our lineup,’ Guerin mentioned. ”Off the ice, Mikko’s impression within the State of Hockey was immeasurable as he went out of his option to make a constructive impression on so many individuals in our group, together with his charitable contributions to Youngsters’s Minnesota.”

Koivu was drafted sixth total in 2001 and made his NHL debut on Nov. 11, 2005. He’s the primary participant to play all 1,000 NHL video games with Minnesota.

Earlier this month, the Wild acquired middle Nick Bjugstad from Pittsburgh for a conditional choice within the 2021 draft. The 28-year-old Bjugstad, who has 97 objectives, 110 assists and 681 hits in 439 profession NHL video games, will probably be requested to fill the position of a checking middle.

The 6-foot-6, 215-pound Bjugstad will enter the ultimate yr of the six-year, $24.6 million contract extension he signed with the Florida Panthers, who drafted him with the 19th total choose in 2010. Bjugstad had a career-best 49 factors in 82 video games with the Panthers in 2017-18, the one NHL season during which he has not missed any time.