Quoting: Bluetomorrow83
DeSmith 28 games 0.917 SV% with 0.625 QS% = 1.25M AAV
Koskinen 27 games 0.911 SV% with 0.458 QS% = 4.5M AAV
Awful signing! Koskinen should be in the Hutton to Greiss AAV range (2.75 to 3.33M)
The difference between the two is, of course, the track record of experience in the KHL in the previous 5 seasons (and 2 years in Liiga prior to that).
13/14 (KHL) - 41g | 1.70 | .939
14/15 (KHL) - 50g | 2.10 | .923
15/16 (KHL) - 41g | 2.42 | .915 | (WC’s) - 8g | 1.13 | .947
16/17 (KHL) - 23g | 2.08 | .916
17/18 (KHL) - 29g | 1.57 | .937 | (OG’s) - 5g | 1.62 | .932
Recent Awards:
KHL Most Valuable Goalie (15)
KHL Goalie of the Month (2x)
KHL Goalie of the Week (7x)
Gagarin Cup Champion (15 & 17)
Gagarin Cup Playoffs Best Sv% (16)
Gagarin Cup Playoffs Best GAA (17)
World Championship Silver Medal (14 & 16)
World Championship Best Goalie (16)
World Championship All-Star Team (16)
World Championship Top 3 on Team (16)
Koskinen has shown that he can excel in the 2nd best League in the World and has held his own through his first 25+ NHL game’s on return to NA. If it were someone without that extensive track record then it would be an absurd deal, but in such a context it makes a bit more sense. Compare to the 3y deal for Kovalchuk - at least with Koskinen there is 4+ months of recent NA work to support such a signing, so I would say it is lower risk than the Kings’ signing. He has shown that he can be an average goalie (and he is being paid “average”, to even a bit below). With his experience and track record there’s the possibility for more.
It’s not as bad a signing as it initially appears.