What happened to Mikko Koskinen, that huge Oilers goaltender?

If you’re an Edmonton Oilers fan, Mikko Koskinen probably comes to mind. That huge Finnish netminder who was 6 feet tall and made the net look small. He rolled into town in 2018 and became a real part of those Connor McDavid squads for a while. He was all over the news for a while, but then kind of disappeared from the conversation.

Curious what the man is doing now?

Before the Oilers, Koskinen dominated the KHL

Koskinen headed to Free Agency, arriving in May 2018 after tearing it up in the KHL with SKA St. Petersburg, where he racked up championships, posted monstrous save percentages and even picked up Best Goalkeeper awards. The Oilers didn’t spend too much; they simply gave him a one-year prove-it contract worth $2.5 million to see if the big man could translate his game to the NHL.

But he showed up and performed right away, so they quickly gave him a three-year extension worth $4.5 million AAV in January 2019. Classic ‘see it, believe it, pay’ move.

He was the go-to guy at points for wins over the Oilers and had those hot streaks where he was basically a wall – nothing could get past him. The 2019-2020 season was his best. In 38 games, he posted a strong save percentage of .917 and won 18 games. He was money in the fold. Big saves when it counted, no soft goals, giving the team a lot more life than the end result showed.

Why was Koskinen so special to the Oilers?

What really stood out to Koskinen was his height: 6-foot-1, just a solid wall in the crease. Shooters hated it; they would finish, and the puck would just disappear into him because he was covering so much net with those long limbs. By the time he left the Oilers, he had played 168 NHL games, with 86 wins, a career percentage of .906. Never elite, but super reliable in that messy interim period for the team.

After 2022, he left the NHL and headed to Switzerland. He signed a two-year contract with HC Lugano. The numbers were decent – ​​a save percentage of around .900, a few play-off games to keep things interesting – but you could tell it was more about finishing strong than dominating. In April 2024, at the age of 35, he retired. Solid way to go out after everything.

Koskinen continues to play hockey today, but no longer as a player

These days you’ll notice that Koskinen is still tied to hockey, just on the management side: he is working as a player agent in Finland. He is registered with the Finnish Ice Hockey Players Association and calls Helsinki his home. Smartly, he gave up his ownership stake in that Liiga club to avoid any crossover issues or conflicts. It’s a pretty neat transition, man, from being the one in goal to being the one helping young players figure out their path. A stylish way to continue to give something back to the sport.

Oilers fans probably remember him as that towering goalie who gave them stability and some big wins. Hockey careers can take some wild turns, and Koskinen’s story is a perfect example of that.

Related: McDavid’s great, but Celebrini is the real Olympic star