Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu embarked on the fight of his life in this 2001 article from The Hockey News Archive.
It was news that no one was prepared for; not the Canadiens organization, not the Montreal media, not Habs fans looking forward to ushering in the 2001-2002 season. On September 6, 2001, the Canadiens announced that Saku Koivu had been diagnosed with abdominal cancer.
A more precise diagnosis would be revealed a few weeks later. The Montreal captain had Burkitt lymphoma, an aggressive type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
The Canadiens team physician Dr. David Mulder (who retired this September) spoke at a press conference on September 6, 2001 at the Molson Centre (prior to being renamed the Bell Centre.) "He has been hit between the eyes," said Mulder. “It has been a very hard thing for him to accept. (But) he has fought many battles and he’ll fight this one."
Koivu missed most of the season due to his cancer treatment but returned for the Canadiens 80th game on April 9, 2002 helping Montreal secure a playoff spot and an upset win over the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs.
You can read the full story dated September 21, 2001 in the THN Archive.
The Hockey News, Vol. 55, Issue 3
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