koivu was drafted by the montreal canadiens in the 1993 nhl entry draft, following his rookie season in the sm-liiga, as their first round selection, 21st overall. after two more seasons with tps, koivu moved to north america for the 1995–96 season to join the canadiens. in his first season, koivu ranked fourth in scoring amongst nhl rookies with 45 points in 82 games. the following season, he was amongst the nhl leading scorers (13 goals and 25 assists for 38 points) before suffering a knee injury on december 7, 1996, in a game against chicago blackhawks. he missed 32 games that season but returned to finish with 56 points in 50 games.