koivu has represented finland on several occasions and was the national team's captain; he was named successor of long-time captain timo jutila after he retired from international play in 1997. koivu's first duty came in 1998 when the 1998 winter olympics took place in nagano. he has held the post ever since, with one exception—for the 2008 iihf world championship—when he joined the team in the middle of the tournament. he was offered the "c" but declined, pleading, "it would only stir things up and the team has already a great captain, ville peltonen."