The change of coach provided Mikko Koskinen of Edmonton with a much-needed new beginning. Right now, the Finnish guard is again the elite of the league. The transfer limit, which expires on Monday, makes the player with a little nervousness.
18.3. 08:30 • Updated March 18 09:16
Three years of pressure in Edmonton’s goalie boiler boiled over under Epiphany. Mikko Koskinen had just lost to the tube of the sixth game he started and not the then head coach Dave Tippettin discretion worked.
Koskinen admitted his mistake, but added that he would not be able to score goals. The team had made a total of seven hits in Koskinen’s six loss matches.
It was obvious that the exchange of words, which had become a huge media clutter, should leave a crack between the coach and the goalkeeper.
Since then, many things have changed.
Tippett was not allowed to turn the Oilers course and on February 11, the club management made its decision: the coach was allowed to leave and was replaced by a person who did a good job on the club’s farm team. Jay Woodcroft. There is still gymnastics in Edmonton’s game, but the change has brought new power not only to the team but also to Koskinen, whose collaboration with Tippett never seemed to work.
– It was a new beginning for me, it’s not a denial. I got to start from a clean slate and surely the ballast fell off my shoulders. It’s always the case that with a new coach, everyone gets a new fair opportunity, and that’s probably the purpose. On the other hand, the work is still exactly the same, the discs have to be caught, Koskinen tells Urheilu.
Koskinen has really started to catch the discs.
Koskinen, who played without wins from the beginning of December to January 22, won ten of the first 13 matches after the dry season and lost only once in the regular season. After the first win after a difficult period, Koskinen’s winning percentage (76.9) was the best in the entire NHL before the previous night’s match against Buffalo.
During the same period, Koskinen’s rejection rate was 91.7 and the average number of goals scored was 2.64. In the GSAA statistics, the number of Finns against five to five was minus almost seven and a half hits before the January victory match. The reading was the fifth weakest in the entire league.
GSAA statistics tell you how many goals a goalkeeper saves relative to the league average. Since then, Koskinen’s reading has risen to a plus and was 6.86 goals before the Buffalo game.
Against Buffalo, Koskinen continued strong and conceded just one goal when Edmonton took a 6-1 win.
– I have gained a lot more self-confidence in my own work. It feels like the package is piled up and gaming is natural. As the game progresses, the puck is well seen and playing becomes delayed. Of course, after the change of coach, it has also become much closer to play as a team, Koskinen praises.
– Both myself and the team have good elements for the spring, although there is room for growth.
It is true that Edmonton has played more closely during Woodcroft, which has made it easier for Koskinen to play. When the oil flock gave more than 11 first-sector finish spots per hour they played under Tippett’s five-on-five, after a change of coach, the score is less than nine and a half.
During Woodcroft, Edmonton have given five-to-five least-fifth-place finishers throughout the series, a direct result of a frozen five-handed game, especially in defense. Edmonton is still not a close-knit team-playing model group, but doing so is now better than under Tippett.
“Sometimes it feels pretty absurd”
In the middle of Koskisen’s latest boom, the strength of the character of the Espoo goalkeeper is forced to stand out. Although the NHL world is familiar with many different and colorful Finnish stories, few have gone through the kind that Koskinen has squeezed through during his four years in Edmonton.
Especially after a three-year, $ 13.5 million extension agreement three years ago, Koskinen got huge expectations from both fans and the media. Many in the city felt that Koskinen did not have to carry the number one guard and that this was not worth the contract.
The occasional level of performance has given extra impetus to outside noise.
There seems to have been an almost uninterrupted debate around Koskisen for years. If the games haven’t gone through, the criticism has been crushingly fierce. In good moments, recognition has been given, but even then it has been reminded that Koskinen is still not the number one goalkeeper at the NHL level.
Last week, the local media asked Koskinen if they had to play matches for consecutive days. Edmonton has strongly questioned Koskinen’s ability to cope with the number of matches in the first guards. Koskinen shook the media that this was a theme that the press had come up with on its own.
– Sometimes this conversation seems quite absurd, Koskinen says.
– This is not the first time we have been in a situation where two games should be played in a row. In my answers, I try to be honest with the media. I will answer what is asked. They just do their job, but there are only people players. Yes, it feels bad sometimes, but I don’t suppress those feelings. I accept it and move on.
The conflict with the former head coach in public after all of the above seems like a particularly difficult situation. When, in addition to the fans and the media, Koskinen also received a steaming session in January from his own coach, the straight line began to be ready. The Finnish watch is experiencing years of great growth in Edmonton.
– It’s been my job to keep my mind. I’m proud of not letting it scrap myself. It’s also important that I have more in my life than hockey. Identity is not built on hockey, and the opinions of the Edmonton media do not define me as a person. All this has made me a stronger and better person.
The fact that Koskinen is personally in the ears of spring after all, in terms of possible playoffs, says a lot about the goalkeeper’s mental hardness. Criticism has been fierce, but it has not taken a final grip on the Finnish watchdog.
Koskinen emphasizes that he is not bitter or does not want to show anyone in particular.
– Of course, the desire to win is insanely strong, but I don’t play to silence criticism. I play to win for my friends and myself. Today, I can already respond correctly to the speech that comes from the environment. In the end, it’s exactly the same as how to play, someone always whispers, 33-year-old Koskinen laughs.
– It must also be said that there have been any opinions here now, so this has been a great year. I’ve been able to enjoy playing most of the season. That’s an important thing for me. Then you have the opportunity to make the most of yourself.
Stressful Monday: Trading Still Possible
Koskinen’s good grip in recent weeks has somewhat diluted the debate around possible player deals, but it is still possible to trade Koskinen, who is playing for the last year of his contract, before Monday’s transfer limit. Clearly, for a family player, trading in the middle of the season is never a particularly preferred option.
Koskinen makes no exception to this.
– At some point through this came the thought, but maybe the excitement before Monday will be more on the wife’s side. It has just been said that the media is talking about stores to create interest in Monday, but few of those speculations will finally materialize, Koskinen says.
– But it’s a little stress, of course, when moving here as a family and the children have kindergartens and others here. The hall has TVs on all the time where you can hear and see those things on a daily basis.
However, trading Koskisen is not easy. The Finn has a partial clause in his contract preventing the transfer, which in practice means that Koskinen has previously provided the club with a list of 15 clubs to which he refuses to transfer. So there are 16 clubs left that Oilers could trade Koskisen for.
Taking into account the challenges posed by the wage cap and Koskinen’s more valuable contract, the probability of a deal decreases.
Correction at 9.15: There are 16 clubs left that Oilers could trade for Koskisen, not 17.