Earlier this season, when the Anaheim Ducks were willing to listen to trade offers for pretty much their entire roster, the only two players that were said to be off limits were veteran forwards Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne. Both players were eligible for unrestricted free agency heading into this summer, and one of them has already been taken off the market. The Ducks announced on Wednesday afternoon that they have agreed to a one-year contract extension with the 37-year-old Koivu. The team did not release the terms of the contract, but Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times reports the deal is worth $3 million.
Koivu made $2.5 million this past season
In 74 games with the Ducks during the 2011-12 season, he scored 11 goals to go with 27 assists. He's spent the past three seasons in Anaheim after signing with the team as a free agent prior to the 2009-10 season. Before playing for the Ducks, he spent the first 13 years of his career with the Montreal Canadiens.
Even more than the goal and point totals last season was the fact that Koivu played a pretty tough role for Anaheim. He played against the third toughest competition among forwards on the team and did so mostly in defensive situations, and he was still able to keep the puck going in a positive direction -- he finished with a positive relative Corsi rating (the measure of total shots attempted vs. total shots allowed). In other words: he was a pretty solid possession player on a team that didn't have many players that excelled in that area.
With Koivu back for another year, Anaheim will now wait for Selanne to decide whether or not he has another season in him.
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