WOLVES DEAL FOR KOIVU / BEAUCHEMIN

>>>Reykjavik, Iceland- The wheeling and dealing of the Thunder Bay Timberwolves continued on 11.11.11. Coming off the heals of the acquisition of Joffrey Lupul four days ago, Blake Wendt and his staff picked up centre, Mikko Koivu [pictured] and defenseman, Francois Beauchemin from the Calgary Chinook. In exchange for highly-touted prospects Brayden Schenn, John Carlson and centre Shawn Horcoff.
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"There are so many reason for us to make this deal," remarked Wendt after landing in Iceland with his club for their game on Saturday against the Reykjavik Puffin. "First, we've coveted Mikko for a long time. He's a complete player. Great size, dominate in the face-off circle, plays a 200 foot game and is a natural leader. We feel that what he provides us now and in the future out-weighed what Brayden Schenn would bring to us. Immediately, Koivu replaces Horcoff in our lineup. An upgrade there as well. In order to move Horc and his contract, we needed to add to the deal with John Carlson. Someone we were not looking to move, but in the end it had to be done. Finances are real concern to this hockey club, and these heavy-hitting contracts just cut too deep. In order to move Carlson from our blueline, we needed another defenseman in return. Beauchemin is a perfect fit for the role we had open on our back end. We need to protect our goalies better, open up shooting lanes and block more shots. Francois provides us with all of that. So, while we would rather not continue to move out prospects, there are times that deals like this make sense to further stabilize this organization while not hurting us is our immediate, ultimate goal."
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Koivu has been assigned jersey number 8, and Beauchemin number 28. Both are expected to be in the lineup on Saturday against the Puffin.