Saku Koivu Saku Antero Koivu ( born 23 November 1974 , in Turku , Finland ) is a Finnish professional player currently playing for the Montreal Canadiens as the team captain . His brother , Mikko Koivu , is also a captain for the Minnesota Wild . Playing career . SM - liiga and NHL . Saku started his professional ice hockey career playing for TPS in the Finnish SM - liiga , in the 1992 – 1993 season . He spent three seasons with TPS , winning two Finnish championships with the team in 1993 and 1995 , and being elected Player of the Year by his fellow players in the 1994 – 1995 season . He was drafted by the Canadiens in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft as their first - round selection ( 21st overall ) , and moved to North America for the 1995 – 96 season . In his first year , Koivu ranked 4th in scoring amongst NHL rookies . The following season Koivu was the NHL leading scorer ( 13 goals , 25 assists and 38 points ) before suffering a knee injury on 7 December 1996 , in a game against Chicago Blackhawks . He missed 32 games in that season but still had an average of scoring over a point per game ( 56 points in 50 games ) . On 30 September 1999 , Koivu was named the 27th captain of the Montreal Canadiens , and the first European - born captain in the history of the Canadiens . After six seasons in the NHL , Koivu was diagnosed with Non - Hodgkin ' s lymphoma in September 2001 and missed practically the entire 2001 – 02 NHL season . He made an amazing recovery and was able to return for the playoffs , leading the Canadiens to an unlikely first - round upset of the number one - ranked Boston Bruins . For his courage and off - ice team leadership while undergoing cancer treatment , he was awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy following the 2002 playoffs . He followed up in the 2002 – 03 NHL season by scoring his career best single - season point total with 71 ( 21 goals , 50 assists ) to that date . During the 2004 – 05 NHL lockout , Koivu returned to Finland to play for TPS , whose head coach at the time was his father , Jukka Koivu . He was joined in Turku by then - fellow Montreal Canadien , and close friend , Craig Rivet . The 2006 – 07 was Koivu ' s seventh season as the Canadiens captain . His continued tenure seems to have ended a supposed curse of Habs captains . During a ten - year span from 1989 to 1999 , six captains were traded away . The 2006 – 07 NHL season was , for Saku Koivu , personally successful . In a game on 9 January 2007 , in which the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Atlanta Thrashers 4 – 2 , he registered his 500th NHL point . With 2 : 47 remaining , Koivu fed Michael Ryder with a pass across the slot for a power - play goal . Koivu received a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 21 , 273 in Montreal . Koivu went on to score 22 goals and 53 assists in 81 games , totaling 75 points , making 2006 – 07 his best season . At the season ' s annual awards banquet , Koivu was announced as the winner of the King Clancy Trophy for his role in the cancer - fighting Saku Koivu Foundation . The Canadiens ' team doctor , Dr . David Mulder , received the award on Koivu ' s behalf as he wasn ' t present . In October 2007 , Koivu was criticized by Quebec nationalist lawyer Guy Bertrand for not speaking French in a videotaped pre - game ceremony . Although Koivu is fluent in English , Swedish and Finnish , he speaks limited French and is shy about using it in public . He replied to Bertrand ' s remarks that he is not perfect , and jokingly mentioned that he speaks French to his wife during intimate moments . In NHL . com ' s March 2008 edition of Impact ! Magazine , Brian Compton listed 10 best captains of all - time after Steve Yzerman and Koivu was included in the article as 10th behind the likes of Mark Messier and Mario Lemieux . Later in the magazine , Koivu was characterized as an inspirative leader , who leads by example , and a courageous fighter , who has the will to overcome an obstacle such as cancer . On 18 October 2008 , Koivu moved up to number 7th on the Canadiens all - time assist list over the legendary Maurice " Rocket " Richard in a game against the Phoenix Coyotes . Koivu netted one and assisted on two from newly - acquired linemate Alex Tanguay when the Habs beat Coyotes 4 - 1 . Koivu would continue his strong performance with a goal in the following game against the Florida Panthers on 20th of October , 2008 . The goal marked as his 600th career point in the NHL . As of the conclusion of the 2008 – 09 season , Koivu is the longest serving captain in team history , tied with Jean Béliveau . After this season Koivu and Montreal parted ways , Koivu went on to Anaheim . Injuries . Throughout his career , Saku Koivu has suffered various medical issues , many due to his style of play in his early NHL years . In his sophomore year , Koivu was leading the NHL in scoring before suffering a knee injury . The next two seasons , Koivu was riddled with various leg injuries ; however , in each year , he managed to play in more than 60 regular season games . During the 1999 – 00 NHL season , Koivu dislocated his shoulder which took him off the ice for 40 games , and had another knee injury , playing only 24 games . The next season , he sat out 28 games due to arthroscopic surgery on his left knee . Koivu ' s latest knee problems were in 2003 – 04 NHL season , when he was forced to miss 13 games . Since then he has changed his style of play to a more reserved style . Koivu also missed a couple of the 2007 – 08 playoffs games with a broken foot . Battle against cancer . On 6 September 2001 , Koivu was diagnosed with Non - Hodgkin ' s lymphoma after having serious pains in stomach and vomiting . Koivu was on his way back from Finland with then - fellow Canadien Brian Savage who said he looked pale and not well at all . He went to see the Canadien ' s physician David Mulder , who did tests . It was later discovered that Koivu had cancer . Koivu received large numbers of get - well e - mails and letters . He was also in touch with Mario Lemieux , John Cullen and Lance Armstrong ; all athletes who had beaten cancer and returned to the top . Koivu was expected to be out for the season but made a remarkable comeback in time for the last few games . Fans gave Koivu an eight - minute standing ovation when he skated onto the Molson Center ice for the first time on on 9 April 2002 . Koivu helped the team to gain a playoff spot and they went on to beat the # 1 ranked Boston Bruins in six games . Eye injury . On 26 April 2006 , during a home playoff game against the Carolina Hurricanes , Koivu sustained a serious injury to his left eye . Hurricanes forward Justin Williams attempted to lift Koivu ' s stick and struck him in the eye . Koivu was rushed to the hospital , where he would remain overnight and for the remainder of the playoffs . Williams attempted to contact Koivu to apologize personally , but was only able to leave him a message on his cell phone . Koivu remained out of the lineup for the rest of the series and underwent surgery to repair a detached retina during the off - season . Koivu has admitted to having lost some degree of peripheral vision out of the injured eye which he will likely never regain . As well , a small cataract developed following the retinal re - attachment surgery that was later successfully removed ; Koivu waited until the conclusion of the 2006 – 2007 NHL season before opting to have the surgery , and also tried a contact lens design to counteract the cataract ' s effects . Koivu opted to wear a larger style of visor than he had previously worn . Koivu ' s play has demonstrated that he can still complement his linemates with seemingly no adverse impact to his performance . In fact , in the 2006 – 2007 season he was able to beat his career high 71 points with 75 , making the season after his eye injury the best of his career . Koivu attributes his increased scoring this year to developing a quicker release of the puck , rather than anything to do with his eye injury or other subsequent changes to his play style thereafter . In the summer of 2007 he underwent eye surgery to improve his vision . International play . Koivu has represented Finland on several occasions and is the national team ' s captain . Koivu was named the successor of a long - time captain Timo Jutila after he retired from international play in 1997 . Koivu ' s first duty came in 1998 when the 1998 Winter Olympics took place in Nagano . He has held the post ever since , with one exception in 2008 when he joined the team in the middle of the tournament . He was offered the C letter but declined pleading " it would only stir things up and the team has already a great captain , Ville Peltonen . " Most recently , Koivu won a silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics , and bronze medals at the 1994 Winter Olympics and the 1998 Winter Olympics . He was also on the 2004 World Cup team , which advanced to the final but lost against Canada , thereby winning the silver medal . Koivu ' s most renowned achievement with Team Finland is as first line center in the 1995 IIHF World Championships , where Finland won its first IIHF men ' s gold medal . Koivu played in the first line with Jere Lehtinen and Ville Peltonen ( the " Huey , Dewey , and Louie " line ) , who were all selected as tournament all - stars . Koivu was partnered with Teemu Selänne and Jere Lehtinen in a line if all three were available . The trio has been a key factor to Finland ' s success at bigger events . However , Koivu and Selänne have played numerous times without Lehtinen and have had great performances which have also affected the NHL ; after 1999 World Championships Selänne said in an interview on a Finnish TV program : " It would be great to play with Saku " which led to rumours about Koivu being traded to Anaheim . In 2009 Koivu moved to play for Anaheim and he ' s played there since then . On 23 February 2006 , Koivu was elected by his fellow Olympic competitors as a member of the Athletes ' Commission of the IOC . International play . Played for Finland in :