Former Oilers goalie Mikko Koskinen officially retires
The 35 year old played the last two seasons in Switzerland.
HockeyFeed
Former Edmonton Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen returned overseas in June of 2022 to suit up for HC Lugano in the Swiss National League, but he has reportedly decided to hang up the pads.
According to multiple reports on social media, Koskinen is declaring his retirement from professional hockey.
Oilers fans always had a bit of a tumultuous relationship with Koskinen, from the moment he arrived in Edmonton back in 2018. Nearly 10 years after Koskinen was drafted, he left his cushy position with the KHL's SKA St. Petersburg to give the NHL a fair shot. Koskinen was the best goaltender in the KHL in the mid 2010s and was arguably the best goaltender not in the NHL. He was lured out of Russia by former Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli back in 2018 with a reasonable $2.5 million contract. Before the ink even dried on that one year pact though, Chiarelli negotiated a three year extension for Koskinen worth $4.5 million per season. That deal ended up saddling the Oilers for three straight seasons.
While Koskinen's statistics weren't great with the Oilers, it's fair to say that he didn't have much in the way of support. Even Carey Price would have been hard tasked to drag those Oilers teams to success.
In his last season with the Oilers, he amassed a record of 27-12-4 with a 3.10 goals-against average and .903 save percentage, serving as backup to Mike Smith as the Oilers made it to the Western Conference Final for the first time since their Cinderella run in 2006.
He was one of the tallest goaltenders at 6'7 to ever play in the National Hockey League. He was originally drafted second round, 31st overall, by the New York Islanders in the 2009 NHL Draft.
Recommended articles:
