Ex-Oilers goalie Mikko Koskinen retiring from hockey: report
Former Edmonton Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen is reportedly retiring from hockey.
Initial reports of Koskinen hanging up the pads came from sports reporter Timo Kunnari, who writes for Finnish publication Iltalehti. Kunnari wrote that this information is coming from multiple sources and came as a surprise, as there were rumours that Koskinen would be returning to Finland next season.
“Koski was rumoured to be a league newcomer to Kiekko-Espoo’s goal for next season. However, according to current information, this will not happen,” a translated version of Kunnari’s article read.
Koskinen will end his career with an 85-60-13 record through 168 NHL games. Of those wins, 83 came with the Oilers.
Kick save and a beauty at that from Mikko Koskinen! pic.twitter.com/8BrwlpN51x
— NHL (@NHL) March 29, 2022
The 35-year-old goaltender has had quite the career path up to this point. He was initially drafted 31st overall by the New York Islanders in 2009 but only appeared in four games with the team before returning to Finland. He eventually made his way to the KHL to play with Novosibirsk Sibir and St. Petersburg SKA.
He returned to North America in the summer of 2018 after signing a one-year contract with the Oilers. He had a decent first season with Edmonton, stealing the starter’s job from Cam Talbot and putting up a 25-21-6 record. It was enough to warrant the Oilers extending him with a three-year contract carrying a $4.5 million AAV midway through that first season.
From there, the hulking 6-foot-7 Finn had himself a couple of decent years with the Oilers, despite drawing the ire of sections of the fan base. Koskinen had a rocky reputation for letting in inopportune goals, but he had an okay stat line, posting a .917 save percentage in 2019-20 and then a good 27-12-4 record in 2021-22.
He would eventually lose the Edmonton net in the 2022 playoffs to Mike Smith and, that summer, both he and the Oilers decided to part ways at the end of his contract. Instead of signing with another NHL team, Koskinen went back to Europe, where he has been playing with Lugano of the Swiss-A league for the last three seasons.