Koivu is the first player in Wild history to have his number retired; Minnesota retired No. 1 for its fans prior to its first NHL game Oct. 11, 2000. He fought back tears and hugged his three children as he watched No. 9 rise to the rafters of the arena.
"There is only one State of Hockey," Koivu said. "It's all because of you and the great people here in Minnesota. … I truly love this organization and the state of Minnesota."
"Thank you to everyone who has made this possible."
Koivu, a forward, was Wild captain from 2009-20 and is their all-time leader in points (709), assists (504) and regular-season games (1,028). He became the first to play 1,000 regular-season games for them Dec. 1, 2019.
No. 9 banners adorned the seats while more than 18,000 fans applauded and began a "Mikko Koivu."
The typically-stoic Koivu smiled, waved and wiped tears while joined on the ice by his children, brother, Saku, his parents and former Wild teammates Kyle Brodziak and Niklas Backstrom. More than 25 former teammates, including Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Devan Dubnyk, Mike Rupp and Thomas Vanek were also in attendance, along with former Wild and current Philadelphia Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher.
The number retirement was a part of a 40-minute pregame ceremony. Predators forwards and Koivu's former teammates, Mikael Granlund and Luke Kunin, were also present.
Koivu, who was selected by Minnesota with the No. 6 pick in the 2001 NHL Draft. The 39-year-old retired from the NHL last season after playing all but seven of his 1,035 regular-season games with the Wild during his 16 NHL seasons. He had one goal and one assist in seven games for the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2020-21.
"(When Minnesota drafted me) it was the best thing that could have happened to me," Koivu said. "I had no idea how much this team would come to mean to me, and I'm so grateful and honored to have played here for so long."
