And this, of course, underscores the fact that the Masterton Trophy winner is on the ice to begin with. Tests in September showed no signs of cancer.

"That is something that you think about," Koivu said. "And when you hear that everything is good, it's something big."

The road to this season began at home in Turku, Finland. Koivu's first task was to build the strength and endurance lost during the eight months he went until March without any training. "We had to make sure that when we started working out hard, I had an ability to do it," Koivu said.

In July and August, he lifted and skated, sometimes with TPS Turku, his Finnish elite team from 1992 to 1995, and sometimes with fellow countrymen in the pros. Among his pickup-game partners: Los Angeles' Mikko Eloranta, Toronto's Aki Berg, the Islanders' Marko Kiprusoff, Atlanta's Tomi Kallio and Florida goalie Jani Hurme, all Turku natives. "I skated well, and those two months were good," he said.

Lifting off his practice jersey, Koivu reveals a long-sleeve spandex shirt which itself reveals more definition than he carried during last season's playoffs. "Actually," he said, "I weighed more in the playoffs than I do right now. Maybe it was fat."

Koivu weighs 182 pounds, compared to 186 last April. But everything about him looks healthier, from his complexion (no longer pale) to his hair (present again and wavy and blond). Even he cannot believe that such a shell of his present self played at such a high level.

"Emotionally, when you're high, it can carry you for such a short time," said Koivu. "I'm surprised I never hit the wall the way I expected. I was able to play all the games and play at a level that I was happy with. Emotion was a big part, but to play for three weeks, a month, you wouldn't think emotion would carry you that long."

Instead, Koivu did the carrying, putting Montreal on his back. To motivate himself, Koivu recalled conversations with Penguin Mario Lemieux and cyclist Lance Armstrong, both of whom beat cancer and still compete - and dominate - their sports.

"That was something that gave me strength to believe I can do it," Koivu said, "and to believe I can survive. Personally, I respect the people who have gone through what I went through because I know how tough it was. And I know that they have character and the ability to do something. I had the team doctors, my wife, my family, my parents. The support I have is amazing."

Juneau: We know what (Koivu) went through and we all have respect for him. To be selfish, you're really glad he's here because he makes your team better.

The support from his father, Jukka (pronounced YOU-ka), traces to both his home and hockey life. Koivu's father coached him as a 6-year-old, again his final two years in junior hockey, and was an assistant with TPS during his son's final two years there.

"After a couple of years you realize that usually the coach is right," Koivu said. "I'm glad I went through those years with him. I learned a little of what it is like to be the coach and the pressure and how to deal with the players."

Earlier, during the morning practice, Koivu was mentoring 22-year-old teammate Mike Ribeiro in faceoffs, except the pupil was having his way with the teacher. The captain wins one, loses one, then another, yet another, and still one more. Four straight he loses, scrapping so futilely that he's about to topple over but smiling wider with each swipe and miss. At the conclusion, Koivu reels in and embraces his teammate.

"We're just glad he's doing well," Juneau said. "It was a really strange experience last year. The whole year he was always on your mind even though we didn't see him everyday. This year it's the other way around. We're trying not to think about it. But we know what he went through and we all have respect for him. To be selfish, you're really glad he's here because he makes your team better."