Canadiens: Captain Koivu’s Finnish Final
Canadiens: Captain Koivu’s Finnish Final
Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports - Canadiens: Captain Koivu’s Finnish FinalFinland may have settled for the Silver Medal in the 2006 Turin Olympic men’s ice hockey final. Still, it also established an indelible mark in the career of former Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu.
This was not Koivu’s first Olympic games or his first opportunity to win a medal. In two previous attempts, the centreman and the Finnish roster made it through the tournament in both 1994 and 1998, capturing the Bronze Medal in both treks. In those two runs, he played 14 games, scoring six goals and tallying 17 points.
2006 held a great deal of importance. It was Koivu’s return to Olympic play given that he had to miss the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake while battling Burkitt’s lymphoma. The diagnosis, which came in 2001, forced him to miss the 2001-02 NHL season. After the announcement came that he had beaten the illness, the franchise centreman returned to help Montreal make a playoff spot in April 2002. One of the most memorable moments for many Habs fans since the turn of the century was the April 9 return from the captain that garnered an eight-minute standing ovation from the home crowd.
By the time he arrived in Turin in 2006, he had been cancer-free for five years. He still was fearful of a return in a way, however. In December 2005, he was sidelined with the stomach flu, wherein similar symptoms had led to the diagnosis in 2001. Although it was truly just the stomach flu this go around, Koivu told a New York Times reporter that it “Scares you. That’s when it hits you. That’s when you kind of realize how lucky you are that you’re still playing hockey, you’re still living your life.”
Turin saw the Finnish team atop the Group A table, having gone 5-0 in their preliminary matchups. Finland then bounced the United States from the tournament in the quarterfinal 4-3, then sent Russia to battle for bronze after besting them 4-0 in the semis. The perfect rivalry game was set against Sweden, who got the better of blue and white, winning 3-2.
For his part, Koivu compiled three goals and 11 points in eight games, all while captaining the team to a silver medal. It would not be his last Olympic games. His swan song run came in 2010 when Finland once again captured bronze.