Before and after yesterday's game between the Canadiens and Wild in St. Paul, there was much talk about the Koivu brothers playing each other, as captains, in front of their parents.  It was a very compelling story, to be sure.  Saku was leading the Habs in scoring, having developed early chemistry between himself and two new linemates this season, Alex Tanguay and Guillaume Latendresse.  Mikko, meanwhile, was leading the Wild in scoring, and tied for the NHL lead in assists.  Both teams had nearly identical records, with only one regulation loss heading into the final game of October. 

Being in Minnesota, this lead to the curious speculation of what it would be like for Saku to join the Wild.  The Minnesota Star-Tribune brought the speculation right to the brothers themselves:

"Well, I played with him in the Olympics, so we've got that experience. But it would be fun in a way, but at the same time he went through a lot earlier in his life following my steps and everybody thinking that he's going to be the same player, so in a way I think it's better for him to have his career somewhere else and not being on the same team.

"But at the same time, that would be a great experience at the end of my career. We'll see what happens."

Asked if he'd be interested in Saku joining the Wild, Mikko said, "Of course. Whenever it's your best friend, or brother ... it would be a big thing for the family obviously. But I think it's better to just live in the moment and [we're] just going to see what's going to happen in the future."

There has been speculation from both sides of uniting the Koivu brothers, but with Koivu approaching unrestricted free agency this summer, the most obvious immediate possibility of this happening would be in Minnesota.  One of the first questions asked here is, at age 33 (he turns 34 on Nov. 23), is Saku really at the end of his career?  And would he simply leave Montreal just to join his brother?

There is little reason to suggest Koivu would feel the need to leave Montreal this summer, or that Montreal would not find a way to retain him.  As the franchise's 2nd longest serving captain (having surpassed GM Bob Gainey recently in longevity), with the team considered a Stalney Cup contender in their centennial year, the idea of the Habs going into 2009-10 without Koivu seems proposterous.  But Michael Russo's article also uses as evidence the idea that Gainey had said he would not negotiate with Koivu during the season.  This is untrue.  In annoucing the recent contract extension for Head Coach Guy Carbonneau, Gainey was also asked about negotiating with any of the team's potential free agents during the season.  The Habs have 10 UFA's and 4 potential RFA's this summer, including Alex Kovalev, Mike Komisarek, Koivu, Alex Tanguay, Tomas Plekanec, Chris Higgins and Robert Lang.  Here is what RDS reported:

 Au sujet des nombreux joueurs qui deviendront autonomes à la fin de la saison, Gainey a indiqué les performances de ces joueurs vont dicter s'ils vont demeurer avec l'équipe et s'il y aura des négociations avec eux durant la saison.

Translation?  The performances of the players will determine whether or not the team starts negotations with them during the season.  This is the standing policy for everyone.  The team negotiatied with Mark Streit early during last season, but no agreement was reached and the PP specialist soon priced himself out of Montreal.  The season before, the team elected not to negotiate with any of their 3 UFA eligible blueliners during the season.  Craig Rivet was traded at the deadline, Andrei Markov was signed to a 4 year deal before July 1, and Sheldon Souray was offered a 3 year deal that he rejected.  On July 1, the team decided to focus on Roman Hamrlik and signed him instead of Souray.  In fact, the only player in Bob Gainey's tenure that has been signed mid-season was Koivu, back in 2006. 

Given Montreal's current position, and lack of alternatives at centre moving forward, it's a pretty safe bet that Koivu will return to Montreal for 2009-10 and beyond.  The only thing that needs to be determined is for how long, and how big of a slice of the available cap space should he take up.  Judging by his early season performance, he might be first in line for mid-season negotiations.

If someone in the future wants to unite the Koivus, they'll have to wait.  It looks like Team Finland in 2010 will be their next game as teammates.