Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen announces new role in hockey after retirement
Photo credit: The Hockey News
At 36 years old, former Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen officially announced his retirement from professional hockey this offseason, and revealed the next chapter in his life.
According to Ilta Sanomat, a news source in Finland, the recently retired goalie will become a player agent in Liiga, the top league in Koskinen's home country. Unless he represents a young prospect that makes his way to the NHL, it's likely that Koskinen only works in Finland from now on.
Koskinen had a unique journey to becoming the Oilers starting goalie in the late stages of his career. Drafted by the New York Islanders in the second round in 2009, Koskinen only played 4 games with the Islanders and a handful in the AHL before leaving to play in Europe. He then played 6 seasons in the KHL, winning the Gagarin Cup twice, before returning to the NHL with the Oilers on a one year contract in 2018.
After a successful start to his tenure with the Oilers, the team quickly signed him to a two year contract extension - but unfortunately that didn't pan out. Koskinen lost the starter's crease in the 2020-21 season, and played just one more year with the Oilers before heading to Sweden for two more years before retirement. In 168 career NHL games, Koskinen has 85 wins, a .906 save percentage, and a 3.01 goals against average. For a goaltender that was pretty much league average, he took some serious flak from fans and media in his time in Edmonton for his $4.5M salary cap hit being too high. Still, fans will wish him the best in his next chapter as player agent.
Source for Koskinen stats: PuckPedia - Mikko Koskinen
| POLL | ||
27 AOUT | 154 ANSWERS Oilers goaltender Mikko Koskinen announces new role in hockey after retirement Were you a fan of Mikko Koskinen? | ||
| Yes | 68 | 44.2 % |
| No | 82 | 53.2 % |
| See Results | 4 | 2.6 % |
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