There had been times when Janne Laukkanen felt sorry for himself. Wondered why he had been singled out for such awful luck. Why the start of his season was being sabotaged by a freak injury.
That all changed a few days ago, when Laukkanen learned that Montreal center Saku Koivu -- a guy who attended his wedding and has been a frequent teammate on Finnish national teams -- is battling a still undefined form of cancer in his abdominal region.
Koivu's season, career and, perhaps, his life are threatened by the illness.
Suddenly, tearing up a knee before a buddy's bachelor party during the off-season didn't seem like such a big deal to Laukkanen.
And Laukkanen, who said yesterday that Koivu is his first peer to be diagnosed with cancer, quickly understood that missing a month of so of the regular season is a setback that must be kept in perspective.
"I was talking about that with my wife," Laukkanen said. "When those kind of things happen, you start looking at life a different way.
"Most of the time, it's always hockey, hockey, hockey. But then, there are things like family and your health. This situation is hard. It's a close friend."
Laukkanen said he first got word of Koivu's catastrophic ailment Wednesday but wasn't unable to confirm it until the next day. That's when he spoke to a secretary in the office of his agent, Don Baizley, who also represents Koivu.
A few hours later, Laukkanen had a series of telephone conversations with other members of the tightly knit Finnish hockey community, exchanging what little information was available on Koivu's condition and prognosis.
"I had a tough time [Thursday] night," Laukkanen said. "I couldn't sleep. ... There were some stories in [yesterday's Finnish newspapers]. It's a shock for them, too. It's a big thing. And everybody's hoping Saku will do well as soon as possible."
Laukkanen has not spoken to Koivu since he was hospitalized in Montreal, where Koivu is scheduled to receive chemotherapy treatments. Laukkanen hopes to make contact, by phone or in person, when circumstances permit.
"I think it's the best thing to give it a little bit of time, to think about it," Laukkanen said. "When the doctors find out what's really going on, I hope to have a chance to go see him or at least make a phone call."
Laukkanen's efforts to visit Koivu might be complicated by his own recovery from an off-season operation on his right knee.
He had to have it surgically repaired after it was injured during a dekhockey game that preceded Ottawa defenseman Sami Salo's bachelor party and again during some boys-will-be-boys horseplay later that evening.
"The next morning there was a lot of blood and I couldn't walk that well," Laukkanen said.
He said he plans to begin running next week and, barring a setback, hopes to be on skates relatively early in the NHL season, which begins Oct. 3. Although he did not specify a target date for returning to uniform, the prevailing sentiment seems to be that he might be able to resume playing in November.
"You can't [accelerate the rehabilitation process]," Laukkanen said. "You just have to wait and see how you feel, whether you're getting stronger. It's still a little weak, but it's coming along good.
"The [most important] thing is to not push too hard, don't be stupid. That's what they tell me all the time."
Laukkanen, one of the Penguins' best puckhandling defensemen, is working with the team's training staff at Southpointe. His focus is on rejoining the lineup as quickly as possible but his thoughts invariably drift to Montreal, and how his knee problem suddenly seems so insignificant.
"I have injuries," Laukkanen said. "But not that serious."
Koivu, the Canadiens' captain, had more than his share of health problems in recent years, too. But while he has missed a lot of games because of things such as bum shoulders and bad knees, overcoming those didn't begin to approach the challenge Koivu faces now.
"He's gone through tough times, had a lot of injuries," Laukkanen said. "But never anything like this."
NOTES -- The Penguins got the last of their restricted free agents under contract last night, when defenseman Michal Rozsival agreed to a one-year deal. It will pay him $600,000 in the NHL and $100,000 in the minors. ... Seven players, including Andrew Ference and Kevin Stevens, will appear at Penguins FanFest today at Mellon Arena. The event, which will including autograph signings and other activities, will be from noon-5 p.m. Admission is $5. ... Individual game ticket for the 2001-02 season will go on sale today at Mellon Arena and all TicketMaster locations.
Saku Koivu's illness changes Janne Laukkanen's outlook 
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