TPS will retire Saku Koivu’s number 11 on Saturday in Turku. He will become the seventh player whose number is raised to the roof of the club’s home arena. The ceremony at Gatorade Center is scheduled to begin at 16:40, ahead of the evening game, which starts at 17:30.
Koivu made his Liiga debut for TPS aged 17 in September 1992 and won the Finnish championship in his first season. In 1994–95, he led the regular-season and playoff scoring races as TPS won another title. That spring, he also helped Finland claim its first world championship and was named the tournament’s best forward.
Koivu played for Montreal Canadiens from 1995 to 2004, becoming the club’s first European captain in 1999. He spent 18 seasons in the NHL, also representing Anaheim Ducks, and returned to TPS for 20 games during the 2004–05 lockout season. The numbers previously retired by TPS include those of Timo Nummelin, Juhani Wahlsten and Hannu Virta.