The Minnesota Wild signed their best player to a seven-year, $47 million dollar deal on Thursday which should keep them competitive vs. the bookmaker NHL odds for years to come. The Wild are usually a team that is just above .500 vs. offshore betting odds and Koivu is a big reason why.
Bookmaker odds last season favored the Wild when they were at home but listed them as underdogs most of the time when they were on the road. Koivu had another very good year for the Wild as he led them in points with 71 as he scored 22 goals and had 49 assists. In addition to being a solid offensive player he was the team’s best defensive forward. It is tough to find a player in the NHL who is good on both offense and defense but that is the case with Koivu. Bookmaker information indicates that he will be with the Wild for years to come as the team has him signed through the 2017-18 season.
Minnesota general manager Chuck Fletcher said that the deal was one of the biggest in the history of the franchise. Minnesota did not want to let their best player get away. Fletcher called Koivu the team’s franchise player. Koivu is very pleased about the new deal and excited to have the contract done. The Wild are paying Koivu a lot of money but if they had not signed him now there is no question that other teams would have come bidding next year when his contract expired.
Koivu has been the best player on the Wild for the past two seasons. He has led them in scoring for two straight seasons. He was a superb player on face offs for Minnesota as bookmaker stats indicated. In fact, he was second best in the league on face offs won last season.
Minnesota is considering adding another player or two before the season begins but overall, Fletcher is happy with his team. Minnesota finished fourth in the Northwest Division last season but they were above .500. They don’t need to tinker too much to make the playoffs. They just need to get more consistent goaltending and find other scoring options in addition to Koivu. The Wild were 21st in the league on defense last season and 21st in offense as offshore betting stats indicated. With those numbers they did well to finish above .500 vs. the bookmaker odds last season.