The Minnesota Wild beat the deadline to retain two top players today, getting center Mikko Koivu and defenseman Martin Skoula both signed to multiyear contracts. Terms were not announced. Skoula, 27, would have become an unrestricted free agent at 11 a.m. Sunday. The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder made $1.6 million last season, when he had 15 assists and a plus-minus ranking of plus-9. Koivu would have become a restricted free agent, but had already received a qualifying offer from the Wild last week. By signing the 6-2, 207-pound forward, who increased his point totals to 20-34--54 last season, the Wild avoided possibly going to arbitration.