Ten years ago it looked like Koivu was the second coming of Henri Richard. Leading the league in scoring before ripping up his knee .......Is there any truth in this. I personally dont remember Saku EVER leading the league in anything. Anyone have any information on this?
HABsolutely! I remember it well. Saku was #1 in scoring in the entire NHL (I think he was tied with some other player, but no one was ahead) when the knee injury put him out for most of the year. He came back in time for the playoffs, and finished with 56 points in 50 games (the league was much lower-scoring back then).
That was only his second year in the league. That knee injury likely put a damper on what could have been a spectacular career, not just a solid one.
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Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
Yeah, I was actually going to mention that, as well. Saku was tearing it up before he got torn up and I wish we could see what he could do now if he had never hurt his knee. That being said, he has done a remarkable job compensating by changing his style and developing more of a defensive, gritty game to go with solid offense.