Boston Bruins goalie's bounce-back season leaves front office with massive decision

When the Boston Bruins traded goalie Linus Ullmark last June, there were not many people surprised by the move. What surprised a lot of people was where he ended up going, to the Ottawa Senators in the Atlantic Division and the underwhelming return that was sent back for a former Vezina Trophy winner.

Coming back to Boston were forward Mark Kastelic, a fourth liner, goalie Joonas Korpisalo, and a first-round draft pick in last June's Entry Draft. That pick was used by general manager Don Sweeney to select Dean Letourneau, who just completed his freshman season at Boston College. One reason why the return was what it was is that Ullmark did not have an extension in place with a year remaining on his deal. He ended up inking a long-term deal with the Senators early in the season.

Korpisalo was seen as a project and rightfully so after a dismal 2023-24 season in Ottawa. The thought in acquiring him was that Boston goalie Bob Essensa was going to work with him and help him turn things around. Our latest Boston Bruins player grade for the 2024-25 season is Korpisalo.

Joonas Korpisalo's Performance

In all honesty, could this season be any worse for Korpisalo after his only season in Ottawa? He went 21-26-4 with a 3.27 goals against average and a save percentage of .890. That was done on a team that missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs again, and the case could be made that the team in front of him was not very good.

This season for the Bruins, Korpisalo went 11-10-3 with a 2.90 GAA and a .893 SV% and three shutouts. One thing that sticks out is the number of games played this season compared to last season with the Senators. The team in front of him this season was not much better than what he had in Ottawa, but the results were better and there were times this year that you could make the case that the Black and Gold played better in front of him than Jeremy Swayman.

There were times when Korpisalo stood on his head for Boston, despite getting shelled on opening night in South Florida against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, who scored four first-period goals and finished allowing six. Talk about a brutal start with a new team and trying to make an impression.

Joonas Korpisalo Moving Forward

This is where things can very interesting for Korpisalo and the Bruins. He made his feelings known at the end of the season that he feels he should have played more than appearing 24 games in. First he threw the coaching staff and front office under the bus, then his agent had a clear message for Sweeney, "Play him or trade him.''

In all honesty, the latter is the route for Sweeney and the front office to go. Korpisalo carries an AAV of $3 million, and that is just too much money locked up on a netminder who isn't any better than the $8.25 million goalie in front of him. He played about what he should have. Then there is cap space once free agency opens July 1, and all money that can be available for Sweeney should be.

There are cheaper options in the American Hockey League (AHL) with Michael DiPietro and Brandon Bussi, who can play the number of games Korpisalo did. This summer for the Boston Bruins, it's about retooling on the fly and having as much cap space available as possible when doing it. Moving Korpisalo helps that.