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Edmonton Oilers reportedly sign Mikko Koskinen to three-year extension

By Dave Stevenson

EDMONTON, AB - JANUARY 19: Edmonton Oilers Goalie Mikko Koskinen (19) makes a save on Calgary Flames Left Wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) in the second period during the Edmonton Oilers game versus the Calgary Flames on January 19, 2019 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, AB. (Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
EDMONTON, AB - JANUARY 19: Edmonton Oilers Goalie Mikko Koskinen (19) makes a save on Calgary Flames Left Wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) in the second period during the Edmonton Oilers game versus the Calgary Flames on January 19, 2019 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, AB. (Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Edmonton Oilers like Mikko Koskinen so much, they’ve given him a three-year extension worth $4.5 million annually. 

The Edmonton Oilers have long searched for a consistent goaltender. Recently, they thought Cam Talbot could be that guy. But he wasn’t. Now the Oilers are hoping Mikko Koskinen can be the guy to keep the net warm for the next three seasons.

According to Elliotte Friedman, Edmonton has re-signed him to a three-year deal worth $4.5 million annually. The Oilers signed Koskinen in the offseason to a one-year deal worth $2.5 million.

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This season, Koskinen has been one of the few bright spots on the team. Through 24 starts (27 appearances), he has a .911 save percentage to go along with a record of 14-10-1. That said, Koskinen turns 31 in July, so this is a bit baffling to say the least. But at least it’s only a three-year deal.

Takeaways From This Deal

Why would the Oilers let Chiarelli make this move? This is why firing him isn’t going to change much. Since their Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2006, aside from the 2016-17 season, they’ve been a complete mess. Chiarelli’s only been around since 2015. While he has his faults, the issues lie much higher than him.

It’s easy to see why the Oilers made this signing. Their organizational depth at goaltending is quite barren. With both Talbot and Koskinen scheduled to become free agents, keeping one of the two makes sense in a vacuum. Especially since this year’s UFA market has very slim pickings as far as goalies are concerned. But only because the Oilers have been that bad at acquiring goaltending depth.

Meanwhile, Edmonton castoff Laurent Brossoit has a .943 save percentage in 10 starts for the Winnipeg Jets. This sums up another layer of the Oilers issues – their asset management is awful. That’s how you wind up trading Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle and only have Adam Larsson to show for it.

The Oilers are putting a lot of faith in Koskinen considering his very small NHL sample size. Even in the KHL, he wasn’t overly impressive. Goaltending is volatile, so it’s probably not wise to sign someone to a three-year deal for $4.5 million a year based on a 27 game sample size. It’s not hard to see how this blows up for the Oilers, who don’t exactly have much cap space to burn.

This deal doesn’t make sense for Edmonton long-term. Let’s say Chiarelli gets fired (seems likely if they don’t make the Stanley Cup Playoffs). The Koskinen deal gives the new general manager even less blank space to work with. But most general managers don’t mind doing these kinds of moves if they know they won’t be cleaning them up.

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The Oilers had a ton of questions before this reported extension. None of them have disappeared. In fact, there are now more questions than before.

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