Parane pian, Saku!!
Koko Suomen suosikki ja loistava persoona Saku Koivu, toivon sinulle mahd. nopeata paranemista!!!! Be strong & don't give up!
Faceoff NEWS
Any time a 26-year-old gets the news Saku Koivu received Thursday, life seems terribly unfair.
When it happens to somebody of his stature as a person, the tragedy, the selectiveness, strikes as hard as anything this existence has to offer.
While the doctors tried their best to put a positive foot forward in Montreal on Tuesday, inoperable abdominal cancer is rather difficult to dance around no matter how young and fit the person may be.
"Cancer is unjust. 'Why me?' doesn't apply," said Dr. David Mulder, the physician heading up the Montreal Canadiens captain's treatment. "He's been hit between the eyes."
He might as well have been referring to the way the rest of the hockey community felt upon hearing the news. It's the way we all feel when someone so young must bear such a cross.
"Obviously our thoughts are with his family," said Mario Lemieux, himself acquainted with cancer, albeit a less serious case.
"Hopefully he'll be able to battle this disease that affects millions of people every year. It's a tough situation but he has to be very strong mentally to get through it. He's certainly going to need a lot of support from his family, friends and teammates. It's not easy when you're in that situation but you have no choice.
"I think the most important thing is to get the support from his close friends like Mark (teammate Recchi). He's got to spend some time with him and give him a lot of positive thoughts. I truly believe your mind can cure a lot of diseases."
Recchi, the Kamloops native who was his roommate for four years before being traded to Philadelphia the season before last, was still rattled.
"I was in shock. I'd heard (Wednesday morning) he was in the hospital and you just think it's a bad flu or whatever. You hear that, I don't know. It didn't really hit me. I couldn't believe it."
Neither could people in Finland. Former Canucks defenceman Jyrki Lumme who is moving to Dallas this season had not heard the news, other than knowing Koivu had come off the flight from Finland feeling ill.
"That's two for me now," said Lumme, who has played internationally with Koivu many times, including the 1998 bronze medal game against Canada.
"I had a buddy who is the same age as me go into the hospital a couple of weeks ago with leukemia. Everyone thinks you have to be at least 50 or 60 to get cancer. But even little kids get it. Saku just got engaged last week. And a guy from my home town was on the flight to Montreal with him. I'll have to call him tomorrow.
"I didn't see Saku this summer but the last time Montreal was in Phoenix we went for a couple of beers. He's a great leader. I could see that back in '94 during the lockout and I went home and played against him when he was the up-and-coming star in Finland. And when things aren't going well, he can stand up in the dressing room and say something. And, just as his brother (Mikko), was taken in the first round ... I've always liked him. He's small but he always gets in there so much."
Two weeks ago Koivu went to a doctor in Finland complaining of pain but was given a prescription for anti-inflammatories.
"I guess when a fit, young athlete comes in complaining they figure they pulled something," said Lumme. "But, with this kind of thing, probably two weeks wouldn't have made much difference."
The Habs frequently refer to themselves as a "family" as many organizations do. Koivu's illness will test this claim to the full.