Saku Koivu retires after 18 NHL seasons

Classy center Saku Koivu, who was the first European-born player to serve as captain of the Montreal Canadiens and also courageously overcame cancer during his career, announced his retirement Wednesday after 18 NHL seasons, the last five with the Ducks.

Koivu, 39, represented his native Finland at four Olympics — winning four medals — as well as at seven World Championships, and was a two-time NHL all-star. He also won the Bill Masterton trophy in 2002 for dedication and perseverance and won the King Clancy award in 2007 for leadership and humanitarian actions. His 10-year term as captain of the Canadiens tied him with the legendary Jean Beliveau for the longest tenure in the club’s history.

A fine two-way center, Koivu scored 255 goals and 832 points in 1,124 regular-season games and had 18 goals and 59 points in 80 playoff games. He missed nearly all of the 2001-02 season while being treated for non-Hodgkins intra-abdominal lymphoma, and his emotional return on April 9, 2002 drew a thunderous ovation from fans at Montreal’s Bell Centre. He later established the Saku Koivu Foundation, which has raised $8 million to buy a positron emission tomography, or PET, scanner for Montreal General Hospital. The machine has aided in the treatment of cancer patients.

A public figure in Montreal, where he and his family had little privacy, Koivu signed with the Ducks in 2009 and enjoyed the opportunity to continue his career without the constant media pressure he had faced in Canada.

“Looking back at my 22 years of pro hockey first in Finland and then in the NHL I feel truly blessed and fulfilled,” he said in a statement issued by the NHL Players’ Assn. “I have been contemplating retirement for quite some time and am very confident in my decision at this time and place.

“Making it in hockey is not only about talent and hard work on the part of the athlete. You cannot do it alone no matter how determined you are. I am grateful to so many people along the way that have facilitated and made my career possible.”

Among those he thanked were the late Don Baizley, his longtime agent, as well as members of the Canadiens’ and Ducks’ organizations, and his wife and two children.

“All in all it has been a dream come true but what I value the most in hockey is the feeling of being part of a team and the friendships I have made along the way,” he said.

“I could not have made it without the loving support of my parents and family. I was blessed with a wonderful childhood and an upbringing that provided me with all I needed to make my career and life what it is today. Thank you Hanna, Ilona and Aatos for loving me as a man and father and supporting my career and sharing the ups and downs of it all. I love you.”

helene.elliott@latimes.com

Twitter: @helenenothelen