Confirmed with Link: Oilers sign Mikko Koskinen

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callighenfan

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So SKA was the only team that could win, or maybe/possibly CSKA.

Didn't AK Bars just win the Gagarin Cup?



Anyway, who cares. KHL teams kick out players not up to the task at any point during any season, happens all the time, and Koskinen has managed to remain and be the no1 in SKA for years. To me he looks like the best keeper not in the NHL, let's hope that will be worth something.

That wasn't really the point. It was that, whatever happened in the KHL playoffs this year, playing behind a massively stacked team would give any goalie's regular-season numbers a boost.

Anyway, it's just a hypothesis. To me the signing looks like another one of Gambler Pete's riverboat bets, but hey, they usually turn out well.
 

nexttothemoon

and again...
Jan 30, 2010
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So SKA was the only team that could win, or maybe/possibly CSKA.

Didn't AK Bars just win the Gagarin Cup?



Anyway, who cares. KHL teams kick out players not up to the task at any point during any season, happens all the time, and Koskinen has managed to remain and be the no1 in SKA for years. To me he looks like the best keeper not in the NHL, let's hope that will be worth something.

Oilers gave up on Klinkhammer and Lander way too soon.
 
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Drivesaitl

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Sorry if someone pointed this out already, but there's one other reason why this signing seems deeply misguided. Remember Slava Malamud's amazing Twitter thread about how SKA St. Petersburg was stacked this year, totally ignoring league rules, to bring glory to Putin in an election year? May tell you something about Koskinen's wondrous .931 save percentage this year, after two years around .915. I'm really surprised Lowetide missed this—he interviewed Malamud on his show after the thread went viral.

View attachment 118853

Full thread here.

I had uncovered the same information but went further today detailing the top 30 paid players in the KHL and that 14 of those play for SKA. Also that they have 10 of the top 18 paid players in the entire league on SKA. Their payroll is several times that of an average KHL team. They spend much more on two players than most of the league pays on entire club. I decided against linking the posts you mentioned because of the unnecessary supposition by Malamud. It is quite easy to demonstrate how much more SKA pay without invoking anything political. See post #778 in this thread if interested.

I've mentioned it several times. Its no wonder that Koski had a startling GAA average playing on the league powerhouse. The back up had identical numbers ftr this season for SKA.
 
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VainGretzky

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From the majority of video I have seen of him , he sure makes himself big in the net something Talbot was bad at , he also seems to protect 5 hole better as well .
 

Drivesaitl

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From the majority of video I have seen of him , he sure makes himself big in the net something Talbot was bad at , he also seems to protect 5 hole better as well .

He's 6 ft 6. That helps.

In the one iso youtube posted yesterday he lets in one goal in a 5-1 W against a hopeless opponent. He let in a five hole from a shot from Center ice. SKA outshot Dynamo 54-22 in the game. He had no difficult save to make all night and still let in a goal. I just thought it was funny. The 3-4 best chances Dynamo had all night was from his poor rebound control.

What I do like though is he uses his paddle better. Kind of the way Quick was doing. Paddle down when he was covering post. Another thing I like is Koski does reset a lot and continually. He's not lazy like Dubs was squaring to the puck when he was here. Kovi does lots of micro adjustments following the puck and good attention to detail. Obvious in the videos he's doing everything he can to have success. Just not great cross ice mobility and for a big guy that's just the way it is. Still, with his size he can stretch from post to post without doing yoga splits...;)

The other funny thing is when he's in the crouch his ass is almost crossbar high. This guy is a giant. The goal just looks smaller with him in it..
 
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VainGretzky

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He's 6 ft 6. That helps.

In the one iso youtube posted yesterday he lets in one goal in a 5-1 W against a hopeless opponent. He let in a five hole from a shot from Center ice. SKA outshot Dynamo 54-22 in the game. He had no difficult save to make all night and still let in a goal. I just thought it was funny. The 3-4 best chances Dynamo had all night was from his poor rebound control.

What I do like though is he uses his paddle better. Kind of the way Quick was doing. Paddle down when he was covering post. Another thing I like is Koski does reset a lot and continually. He's not lazy like Dubs was squaring to the puck when he was here. Kovi does lots of micro adjustments following the puck and good attention to detail. Obvious in the videos he's doing everything he can to have success. Just not great cross ice mobility and for a big guy that's just the way it is. Still, with his size he can stretch from post to post without doing yoga splits...;)

The other funny thing is when he's in the crouch his ass is almost crossbar high. This guy is a giant. The goal just looks smaller with him in it..
Big difference between him and Talbot he does not drop before shots are released, he also jumps back up quickly not like Talbot who stays down as long as opp has puck and plays goal on his knees , which lead to a lot of goals glove high or over his shoulder. Koskinen plays a lot more style that you see Vasilevskiy play , I can see a lot less top self shots going in this year, Talbots season was a good example of video breakdown from other teams ,and his inibility to make correction , so many shots directed at Talbot this season was glove high or higher knowing he goes down early leaving that as the sweet spot for shooters.
 

Drivesaitl

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Big difference between him and Talbot he does not drop before shots are released, he also jumps back up quickly not like Talbot who stays down as long as opp has puck and plays goal on his knees , which lead to a lot of goals glove high or over his shoulder. Koskinen plays a lot more style that you see Vasilevskiy play , I can see a lot less top self shots going in this year, Talbots season was a good example of video breakdown from other teams ,and his inibility to make correction , so many shots directed at Talbot this season was glove high or higher knowing he goes down early leaving that as the sweet spot for shooters.

Good observations. In defense of Talbot though this was the season where goalies go to die. It was a real recovery for goal scoring vs stopping as NHL things go. Almost every goalie had more struggles this year and the declines of several including Price quite notable.

I could see Koski being reasonably hard to figure out for NHL shooters at first because he can just get in the way of a lot of rubber with his size. Scoring against him would be tactical, takes time typically for NHL scouting to scheme around a player. If he gets 20-25 starts NHL clubs don't have a good book on him until next season territory at which point he isn't under contract. So if he puts in a good year here fine.

I will say this, if Talbot leaves Koski would have a hard time being a starter here due to the much longer schedule and harder NHL workload. I could see efficacy really falling off after 35-40 games here if this guy was a starter. The work rate is just that much harder for NHL goalies and holding form is much tougher here than it would be in the KHL. just food for thought.

In isolation this isn't the worst thing this one year contract. Just the frustration of the previous 4 Chia misfires on the backup goalie front is hard to take. This should be the best of the lot of them.
 
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McCombo

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He's 6 ft 6. That helps.

In the one iso youtube posted yesterday he lets in one goal in a 5-1 W against a hopeless opponent. He let in a five hole from a shot from Center ice. SKA outshot Dynamo 54-22 in the game. He had no difficult save to make all night and still let in a goal. I just thought it was funny. The 3-4 best chances Dynamo had all night was from his poor rebound control.

What I do like though is he uses his paddle better. Kind of the way Quick was doing. Paddle down when he was covering post. Another thing I like is Koski does reset a lot and continually. He's not lazy like Dubs was squaring to the puck when he was here. Kovi does lots of micro adjustments following the puck and good attention to detail. Obvious in the videos he's doing everything he can to have success. Just not great cross ice mobility and for a big guy that's just the way it is. Still, with his size he can stretch from post to post without doing yoga splits...;)

The other funny thing is when he's in the crouch his ass is almost crossbar high. This guy is a giant. The goal just looks smaller with him in it..
I have pretty high hopes for him, being Finnish and knowing him probably much better than most of you. Of course adjustment could take time, but we will see. No doubt he is NHL caliber goalie, whether he is average backup, high end backup or even starter will remain to be seen.

Many seem to think if you are goalie in SKA you just stop few easy ones per game and collect your paycheck. But SKA plays much more offensive hockey than many teams in KHL, for example CSKA is much more defensive team with awesome structure. I see that it is easier to play goalie behind very well structured team, than behind a more offensive team. CSKA beat SKA in semifinals this year.

And lets not forget what he has shown in national team too. I have seen some posters write that can he handle NHL level shots, well he allowed one goal (scored by McDavid) against very stacked team Canada in 2016 world championships. Canada outshot Finland 32-16, if he wouldn't be able to stop NHL level shots probably Canada would have scored a lot more goals. And he has seen shots from Kovalchuk, Gusev, Datsyuk, Belov, Hershley in practice pretty much everyday.


1:31 -> he makes cross ice save look pretty easy. Couldn't find longer highlights from the game.
 
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LaGu

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I have pretty high hopes for him, being Finnish and knowing him probably much better than most of you. Of course adjustment could take time, but we will see. No doubt he is NHL caliber goalie, whether he is average backup, high end backup or even starter will remain to be seen.

Many seem to think if you are goalie in SKA you just stop few easy ones per game and collect your paycheck. But SKA plays much more offensive hockey than many teams in KHL, for example CSKA is much more defensive team with awesome structure. I see that it is easier to play goalie behind very well structured team, than behind a more offensive team. CSKA beat SKA in semifinals this year.

And lets not forget what he has shown in national team too. I have seen some posters write that can he handle NHL level shots, well he allowed one goal (scored by McDavid) against very stacked team Canada in 2016 world championships. Canada outshot Finland 32-16, if he wouldn't be able to stop NHL level shots probably Canada would have scored a lot more goals. And he has seen shots from Kovalchuk, Gusev, Datsyuk, Belov, Hershley in practice pretty much everyday.


1:31 -> he makes cross ice save look pretty easy. Couldn't find longer highlights from the game.


McDavid is awesome, so fast, so smooth and that control.

Sorry for going off topic...
 
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Aerchon

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The signing is a gamble but so is every goalie signing... Ever. Just how it works.

Between Talbot, this guy, and Montoya we have respectable depth for next year. Especially with our cap situation I think its fair to say Chiarelli addressed our biggest concern in a "acceptable" manner. Not like we can just trade/sign for whoever we want.

Im more concerned Mclellan will just play Talbot no matter what. I am a Mclellan fan but when it comes to goalie management he is very weak. Ride and die is his only play. Barring a season like Talbot had the year previous Mclellan needs to use his backups a lot more regularly. Keep them in game shape and rest your starter regularly.
 

LaGu

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That wasn't really the point. It was that, whatever happened in the KHL playoffs this year, playing behind a massively stacked team would give any goalie's regular-season numbers a boost.

Anyway, it's just a hypothesis. To me the signing looks like another one of Gambler Pete's riverboat bets, but hey, they usually turn out well.
I know, it was just too easy of a comment to make on those tweets since things played out a bit differently in the end.

Without having seen the KHL playoffs the last years (and hearing interesting stories about the KHL shot-clock...) it is pretty clear that his numbers in terms of shots against don't really stand out that much to be honest. 14/15-15/16 the shots faced are more or less the same as the rest of the top keepers. The last two seasons there is a big gap to the no1 goalie when it comes to SV% but compared with the rest it is a fairly small difference considering the sample sizes we are talking about.

14/15 (SKA won Gagarin Cup)
GKGPSV%SA/GP
Salak1494.326
Lazushin1093.725
Koskinen2293.626
Nilsson2093.524
Koshechkin1093.129
Lalande1192.922
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
15/16 (lost in semis vs CSKA)
GKGPSV%SA/GP
Koskinen1594.931
Koshechkin1994.831
Sorokin2094.525
Furch1194.134
Yeryomenko1094.032
Svedberg1991.228
Proskuryakov1091.227
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
16/17 (won Gagarin Cup)
GKGPSV%SA/GP
Koshechkin1994.037
Koskinen1593.827
Garipov1293.329
Yeryomenko1092.829
Furch1792.226
Karlsson1091.734
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
17/18 (lost in semis vs CSKA)
GKGPSV%SA/GP
Francouz1894.936
Garipov1994.428
Koskinen1593.526
Sorokin1293.021
Scrivens1192.227
[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]


[TBODY] [/TBODY]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
 

Drivesaitl

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I have pretty high hopes for him, being Finnish and knowing him probably much better than most of you. Of course adjustment could take time, but we will see. No doubt he is NHL caliber goalie, whether he is average backup, high end backup or even starter will remain to be seen.

Many seem to think if you are goalie in SKA you just stop few easy ones per game and collect your paycheck. But SKA plays much more offensive hockey than many teams in KHL, for example CSKA is much more defensive team with awesome structure. I see that it is easier to play goalie behind very well structured team, than behind a more offensive team. CSKA beat SKA in semifinals this year.

And lets not forget what he has shown in national team too. I have seen some posters write that can he handle NHL level shots, well he allowed one goal (scored by McDavid) against very stacked team Canada in 2016 world championships. Canada outshot Finland 32-16, if he wouldn't be able to stop NHL level shots probably Canada would have scored a lot more goals. And he has seen shots from Kovalchuk, Gusev, Datsyuk, Belov, Hershley in practice pretty much everyday.


1:31 -> he makes cross ice save look pretty easy. Couldn't find longer highlights from the game.


Most of us watched that game. To me Talbot made the better stops and got the shutout. The play you mention the cross ice pass from Hall is good but the player dusts it off instead of one timing it in the net. It certainly would have been a goal if finished properly.

Early in the hilites Canada has a chance and likely goal but Pukka prevents the goal with a good stick.

I have respect for the D play of Finnish clubs and felt that was very much a levels of D situation. I'd have to look at the complete game again. Admittedly I would have no interest at the time in keying on Koskinen so I didn't. I do remember thinking however that the Finnish club was pretty good at hanging in the game and limiting chances.
 

Soundwave

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Mar 1, 2007
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I honestly rather would have just kept Montoya as the back up, passed on Koskinen, told Gryba to pound sand.

That saves about 2 million in cap space ... more than enough to sign Nurse long term, but we're basically forced into a bridge deal that could bite us in the ass in two years so we can take a chance on a KHL goalie that has 4 total NHL games in experience and because Chia wanted to be nice to Eric Gryba after signing him to an ill advised contract in the first place.

This Koskinen guy better be damn good, because there are real consequences and potential problems that could arise down the road because of that signing.

I think Benning and Caggiula also both got overpaid by a couple of hundred grand.
 
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Little Fury

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Besides our pathetic special teams our goaltending was terrible last year.

Koskinen could be our savior if Talbot plays like last year again.

Putting our back up hopes in the hands of a 30 year old goalie with 4 NHL GP (and paying a premium for it to boot) is asking for trouble.
 
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