The Boston Bruins acquired a new goalie on Monday night as part of their trade with the Senators that sent Linus Ullmark to Ottawa.
Joonas Korpisalo statistically was one of the NHL’s worst goalies in 2023-24. In 55 games, he posted an .890 save percentage and 3.27 goals against average. Korpisalo had issues with rebound control, and local and national experts questioned the acquisition of a goalie that struggled so much.
There were questions about what kind of role Korpisalo would play in Boston. But according to his agent, he will be wearing an eight-spoked B jersey in the 2024-25 NHL season.
“Korpi will play for BOS,” Markus Lehto wrote in an email to The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa.
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A team representative also confirmed to Shinzawa that the Bruins don’t have any plans to buy out Korpisalo “at this time.”
Jeremy Swayman figures to be the franchise goalie once he signs a long-term deal with the Bruins — something both sides are confident in happening this summer. Boston also signed Brandon Bussi to a one-year, two-way contract in the hours leading up to the Ullmark trade.
Korpisalo has a $3 million cap hit and four years left on his deal. Some in Ottawa believed the Senators would try to but out his contract, but now that he’s with the Bruins, they only have to worry about a quarter of his contract after retaining 25%.
Perhaps goalie coach Bob Essensa sees something in Korpisalo that he can improve. But there’s still a lot of offseason left and a lot of moves the Bruins need to make in order to complete their roster and bolster their team.
