The Edmonton Oilers have already made three transactions earlier today by waiving Ty Rattie and Ryan Spooner while assigning Caleb Jones to the minors, and are close to a third according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The Oilers are close to signing goaltender Mikko Koskinen to a three-year extension worth $4.5MM per season reports Friedman. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet added the yearly breakdown while also reporting that the contract includes a limited no-trade clause.
- 2019-20: $5.2MM
- 2020-21: $3.3MM + $500K signing bonus
- 2021-22: $4.5MM
Koskinen, 30, came back to the NHL this season after the better part of a decade overseas playing in Finland and Russia, and has given the team some relatively good goaltending throughout the season. The huge, 6’7″ netminder has posted a .911 save percentage through 27 games this season and has gone 14-10-1 in those matches. That kind of production was certainly enough to consider giving him an extension, but there are plenty of red flags in this deal as well.
For one, this almost certainly means the end of Cam Talbot’s tenure in Edmonton unless the veteran goaltender is willing to sign an inexpensive contract extension. The team already had almost $70MM committed to their roster for next season with definite upgrades that need to happen at the forward position. While Koskinen has outplayed Talbot this season, essentially handing over the starting position to a goaltender with just 31 NHL starts under his belt is a risk. Perhaps the team can find another goaltender to form a solid tandem, but Koskinen will need to carry the majority of the load for this team moving forward.
Relying on him might be tough to do given his recent performance. While Koskinen started the season on fire, his play over the last month has gone downhill with the rest of the team performance. The big goaltender has posted an .877 save percentage in his last ten games, making the timing of this extension at least questionable—though they had probably been working on it for some time.
At the very least, the Oilers will go into the offseason with a bit of cost certainty at the position. For a team that will obviously have to make changes in order to compete for the Stanley Cup while Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are in their prime and under contract, knowing exactly how much you can spend in free agency is a positive measure. With an improved team perhaps Koskinen’s play will bounce back and make this extension look like a genius stroke in a year’s time.
Peter Chirelli is on the Flames’ payroll
Is he the future? Talbots all but gone. Do they bring in someone else?
The guy is aweful at his job, why pro sports generally just cycle through the same handful of has-beens always blows my mind.
Is it conceivable that the Oilers could trade Talbot to a contender looming for an upgrade in goal and come back with an asset? Probably not. It seems very much like a buyers market for goaltending. What a puzzling move by Chiarelli.
another bad contract for next gm to deal with.
It would make sense to trade Talbot to a contender to be a solid backup down the stretch or to a team whose #1 is injured. But idk, seems expensive for a team who already has payroll troubles, and it’s not like Koskinen is a true #1. They could have waited to sign Jimmy Howard for a few more Mil per year.
If a contender is trading for a goalie because their #1 is hurt it will be for jimmy not a 4 million dollar back up who lost his job to a guy who has been league average this year. Also Howard will probably get 5 million a year for maybe 3 years at his age
pawtucket — To answer your question, they already did bring in someone else — Koskinen. Maybe Trader Pete’s long-term vision (double or blurred) is for Koskinen & Starrett. Doesn’t really address the sketchy D, though, does it? Or, the severe lack of scoring depth. No, a team that was purposely built to be bulky and slow will look nore like the L.A. Kings, which will not succeed in today’s NHL. He’s seems hell-bent on acquiring players in category “A”, when Hitch wants category “B”, then has to pitch ’em overboard after a couple of weeks.
I’ve always deferred to his Cup ring in Boston when evaluating Chia’s work in Edmonton. Now, it’s obvious…
He should not only be fired, he should probably be tarred and feathered on his way out the door.
Why would you lock up a mediocre 30 year old nobody? You either have to find someone legit or you are guaranteed to waste McDavid’s prime. That was always likely, now it looks certain.
UNLESS…they flip Koskinen to a tear down team…say Koskinen plus picks for Quick.
One guy happy to see this situation in Edmonton is none other than Ken Holland. Now the mob with the torches and pitchforks can find a more suitable candidate for the boiling oil, tar, feathers, and Dawn Wright’s national anthem wailing…
He’s got one of the dogs from The Secret Life of Pets on his mask, so I like the guy.
Thanks for the reply!