When the Boston Bruins traded away Linus Ullmark, they were looking to the future. In the deal, the Bruins sent Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators for a 2024 first-round draft pick, goaltender Jonas Korpisalo, and forward Mark Kastelic. This trade was intriguing to many fans because Ullmark was expected to demand much more in return than what the Bruins ultimately received. Whether it was a draft pick higher than 25th overall, an immediate contributor who would fill a need at either forward or defense, or a move that would at least free up a large portion of Ullmark's $5 million cap hit, the expectations were greater than the results. While the verdict on the trade is already made for many, it would be unfair to evaluate this deal without seeing Korpisalo play in a Bruins uniform. This may change the perspective.
Realistically, the 30-year-old goalie with a career save percentage of .901, goals against average of 3.06, and a record of 115 wins, 107 losses, and 29 ties will probably not perform as well as he has proven to date. At the same time, the Bruins do not need Korpisalo to replace Ullmark. This trade shows that the Bruins are giving Jeremy Swayman a chance to go full-on as a goalie and start more than the 44 games he set last season, which was his career-high. If the Bruins give Swayman the opportunity to start anywhere between 50 and 55 games, he will be fully on par with an NHL starter. This means the Bruins will need their backup goalie to start anywhere between 27 and 32 games next season.
Things didn't go well for the Finnish goaltender in Korpisalo's season in which he played 55 games for the disappointing Senators. A record of 21 wins, 26 losses and 4 draws, a goals against average of 3.27, a save percentage of .890 and a saves above average (GSAA) of -20.79 doesn't inspire much confidence for anyone who analyzes things at face value. However, this doesn't take into account that Korpisalo was tasked with playing more games than he had ever played in a season in his career. Also, Korpisalo was tasked with playing for the aforementioned disappointing Senators, a team that didn't show much help in front of him.
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In Boston, Korpisalo will have the pressure of playing for a team with Stanley Cup aspirations, but not the pressure of starting. He will also get to learn from Bruins goaltending coach Bob Esensa, who has coached nearly every goaltender who visits Boston with phenomenal success over the years. He will also be playing behind one of the best and deepest defenses in the NHL. Korpisalo was traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets last season and only played 11 games for the Los Angeles Kings, but he proved he is a capable player and can thrive on a team. In 11 games with the Kings, Korpisalo went 7-3-1 with a 2.13 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. It's proof that in the right situation, he can play better than he did behind the not-so-great Blue Jackets and the Senators, who were below league average by almost every metric last season.
The Bruins still have goaltending options.
If Korpisalo can start and give the Bruins a chance to win, he would provide exactly what the team needs behind Swayman to keep the 25-year-old goalie fresh heading into the postseason. Swayman has shown he is capable of playing consecutive games during the postseason, and there is no reason why he won't continue to do so. At the same time, it would be unwise to wear him down during the regular season, which is where Korpisalo comes in. The Bruins have some very strong goalies in their system, including Brandon Bussi, but he will compete with Korpisalo for the backup role in training camp. Bussi could outperform Korpisalo, but it's clear the Bruins were not going to go into the season without some insurance.
One factor to consider with Bussi is that if he doesn't perform to the standard the Bruins require, he could be sent down on waivers to the AHL. If another team sees him as a potential upgrade in their system, the Bruins may not be prepared to lose him for free. But if Bussi plays better than Korpisalo and the Bruins decide he's a better fit behind Swayman, the team could choose to fill Korpisalo's $3 million salary with Providence, costing the team a total of $1.85 million and freeing up $1.15 million in cap space. Of course, this is assuming other teams don't see Korpisalo's $3 million as an untenable amount to claim on waivers.
At this point, it seems fair to assume that Boston's backup position is likely lost to Korpisalo. However, this doesn't mean the Bruins are backed into a corner, as they have the flexibility to adapt to competition. The Bruins once had the luxury of having two of the NHL's elite goalies playing on the team at the same time, but going forward they will need to recalibrate to a more traditional starter/backup dynamic. The backup's job is to fill in for Swayman and give the Bruins a chance to win in the limited opportunities they have. It's less stressful than the starter position, but it's still an important job.
