Rumor: Mikko Koskinen is leaving the Oilers.

There is a big rumor floating around regarding one of the National Hockey League's current Stanley Cup contenders, something that is somewhat out of the ordinary for a team that is still competing in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

On Friday, former NHL head coach Bob Hartley participated in an interview with 9.1.9 Sports in Montreal and it was there that the veteran head coach dropped a pretty big bit of news regarding Edmonton Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen. Hartley revealed that, according to his sources, Koskinen has already signed a new contract for the upcoming 2022 - 2023 season. That deal is not an extension with the Oilers though, but instead a contract with HC Lugano of Switzerland's National League. This would of course mean that Koskinen, at least for now, intends to depart the NHL.

Although Hartley did not reveal how he came to know this information, the long time head coach is a reliable narrator. Not only does Hartley have his own reputation to worry about, but he is extremely well connected in the international hockey community as the head coach of Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League and as a former head coach of the Latvian national team.

Koskinen has been the subject of much controversy since he was signed to a highly questionable 3 year contract by former Edmonton Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli. Chiarelli awarded Koskinen a deal that carried an average annual value and salary cap hit of $4.5 million per season, a deal that he never truly lived up to.

Koskinen is coming off one of his worst seasons with the Oilers, recording a 3.10 goals against average and a .903 save percentage over 45 appearances for the Oilers this season. In his lone playoff appearance for the Oilers he recorded a 5.65 goals against average and a .865 save percentage.

There's no doubt in my mind that fans in Edmonton will wish Koskinen all the best on his new ventures in Switzerland, however on that same note I also suspect that the vast majority of the Oilers fan base will breath a sigh of relief upon learning that Koskinen won't be back for another season beyond this current one.