In the NHL, Ville Koivunen, who signed a massive contract worth 32 million dollars, admits he could anticipate the wave of criticism after the Pittsburgh Penguins gave a big contract to a forward who has only played 47 NHL games in his career.

Koivunen will earn four million dollars per season over the next eight seasons.

– I could foresee that there might be some kind of uproar, Koivunen commented on his big deal to Aamulehti.

– It feels good that the team believes in me. They trust that I can still raise my level a lot and play well in the NHL. That’s what this is about, and it gives me a big boost in confidence, Koivunen continued.

The forward from Oulu has focused on improving his skating during summer training. Developing his skating and raising his strength levels to a new level have been the main themes of the forward’s summer.

– Especially for my first strides, I need power. That would give me a bit more time in different situations, Koivunen sees.

Koivunen, who scored an impressive 41 points in 34 games in the AHL last season, has yet to make his breakthrough in the NHL. The Finnish player played 39 NHL games last season with stats of 2+5=7.

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