How is Mikko Koivu That Important to the Wild?

A seven-year, $47.25 million contract for one player? Doesn't sound like a lot of money, especially to players like Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby, or Alex Ovechkin. But for Minnesota Wild forward Mikko Koivu, it certainly looks like it's enough for him to stay on the team. He had one more year left on his old contract between signing on again for an additional seven more years.
I like Mikko Koivu for two reasons. One: He's a very agile skater and he can rip the defense of other teams long enough to get a shot on goal. Second: He can be a very big presence on the ice. Signing him for those next seven years should be something the other teams will have to look for and observe when he's back on the ice skating for the Wild.
Koivu is just one of the many signings and re-signings that the Minnesota Wild has made during this particularly interesting off-season. They resigned backup goaltender Anton Khudobin to a two-way contract, the third goaltender in depth behind premier Wild goaltenders Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding.
But most certainly Mikko Koivu stands out among the players signed by the Wild this season. I'm not going to say all their contracts, as ESPN does not directly tell me who they signed and for how much, but for Koivu, it sounds like the biggest deal on the plate for them this offseason.
Will it impact the Minnesota Wild? Most definitely. He is a agile skater and he knows how to get the puck on net. Now, will it be enough to give the Wild a chance to go back to the playoffs after missing it the last two seasons? We'll have to wait and see if the Koivu is the strong force to get this Wild team back into the postseason. Certainly it would seem so for a tough skater like him.