Key Takeaways
- Joonas Korpisalo's agent Markus Lehto spoke to RG and made it clear the netminder is happy with the Boston Bruins.
- Korpisalo's name has circulated in trade rumors for the last few months.
- Can the goaltender lock down more playing time in 2025-26 behind Jeremy Swayman?
Joonas Korpisalo #70 of the Boston Bruins defends against Kyle Palmieri (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
While NHL trade rumors continue to circulate around his client Joonas Korpisalo, NHL player agent Markus Lehto made it clear to RG Media this week that Korpisalo has not requested a trade from the Boston Bruins.
“There is no truth to that; Joonas loves it in Boston,” Lehto replied in an email when asked if there was any truth to the rumor that his client had asked out of the Bruins.
When the Bruins signed goalie Michael Dipietro to a two-year, one-way contract that carries an $812,500 salary cap hit this past Monday, it reignited NHL trade chatter surrounding Korpisalo.
“That was a really interesting signing considering what Korpisalo said at the end of the season and given the goalie trade market right now,” an NHL executive opined to RG Media earlier this week. “It definitely got people wondering again on [Korpisalo] and I’m sure teams were and are calling [Don] Sweeney again on him. Don’t forget what he said to the media at the end of the season.”
The NHL exec was referring to Korpisalo’s comments in his end-of-the-season media availability back in April, in which he expressed a strong desire for more starts next season.
“I don’t think there’s any goalie in the league who’s really comfortable playing 20 to 25 games,” said Korpisalo, who started 27 games, went 11-10-3 with three shutouts, and posted a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.90 and a save percentage (SV%) of .893.
“I’m going to push for more games, and we’ll see what happens. I was pretty open when I got into the season, and always, you just try to put everything you have out there, make your mark to gain some playing time. But you just do what’s best for you every day, and try your best and work hard, and that way you might earn some more playing time.
But you know, sometimes it’s not up to me [with] who’s going to play more. And whatever role it is, you do the best you can in that role.”
That sparked NHL trade chatter then, with one NHL executive telling RG at the time that the Boston Bruins had received trade inquiries on Joonas Korpisalo before the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline.
“They got calls and I know that,” a trusted NHL source told RG in April. “What materialized and how far, I can’t tell you, but there was some interest.”
According to more than one source recently, the Edmonton Oilers, San Jose Sharks, Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Philadelphia Flyers are all teams that were seeking help between the pipes at the deadline and entered the offseason doing the same. However, in the last week, the Sharks acquired goalie Alex Ndeljkovic from the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Red Wings acquired goalie John Gibson from the Anaheim Ducks.
Both the Blue Jackets and Flyers remain on the hunt for help in net but another NHL source recently told RG that word is unless something ‘perfect’ falls in their lap, the Oilers will likely enter camp with the current and heavily scrutinized tandem of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard. Edmonton even “poked around” on Bruins No. 1 Jeremy Swayman.
“Maybe an elite goalie suddenly becomes available and they pull the trigger, but right now there isn’t one out there,” the source pointed out. “Could Korpisalo help them? Sure, but how much better is he than Skinner? Don’t forget that in the first three rounds of the playoffs both Skinner and Pickard did play pivotal roles in the team advancing.”
As for Korpisalo’s status with the Bruins, Sweeney again reiterated that even with the DiPietro signing, he still considers Korpisalo a part of the team heading into this coming season. However, both goalies will be given an equal shot to earn the role of backing up Jeremy Swayman.
“We’ve gone over that as a staff and agreed that when a player is playing well enough, he deserves the net regardless of who it is. In Michael’s case, he had a tremendous year and was the AHL goalie of the year. We felt that him still being young enough, there’s growth potential in Michael as well. If Michael comes and pushes, maybe it makes the decision even harder for all of us internally, but that’s what we’re driving. It should be uncomfortable. We missed by a wide margin.”
