The Boston Bruins face an interesting salary cap-related problem this offseason. The club ended the regular season with about 900K in available space. That will just be about $15 million as contracts come off the books and the increase in the cap itself kicks in.
Now, the Bruins don’t really have any major contracts to deal with this offseason. The only notable UFA is Viktor Arvidsson. The prevailing wisdom is that Boston will bring him back. But there’s one thing that could get in the way of bringing back Arvidsson and making other major upgrades: Joonas Korpisalo.
Boston’s backup netminder is under contract for two more seasons at a cap hit of $3 million. Those $3 million could go a long way towards signing a free agent or pulling off a trade. And the cap hit makes Korpisalo’s contract even more onerous when looking at his numbers. In 31 games this season, the Finnish netminder posted a 3.15 GAA and an .894 SV%.
That’s not really worth the money. But there’s another reason why Korpisalo could be a problem next season. 26-year-old Michael DiPietro has been languishing in the AHL to some extent. In 45 games with Providence this season, DiPietro posted a 1.91 GAA and a .930 SV%. Those numbers clearly show that he’s too good to spend another year in the AHL.
So, everything points towards the Bruins needing to trade Korpisalo. Considering the goalie-starved market this offseason, Boston may find a potential out.
Bruins must be realistic about what they can get for Korpisalo
The Bruins originally acquired Korpisalo in the Linus Ullmark trade with the Ottawa Senators. Boston wanted Korpisalo back as the club would need a goalie to play with Jeremy Swayman. Swayman, for his part, has really taken off, while Korpisalo hasn’t quite been a reliable tandem goalie.
Even as a backup, Korpisalo really hasn’t been the piece the Bruins had hoped he would be. That, and despite an appetite for goaltenders this offseason, the organization has to be realistic about what it can get for Korpisalo.
Unless there’s a desperate team out there like the Edmonton Oilers were this season, Boston could expect to get a mid-round draft pick or thereabouts. Even if the club sent the 32-year-old packing for goalie pads and a bag of pucks, getting his cap hit off the books would be a major coup.
Overall, Don Sweeney will need to figure something out this offseason. The likeliest candidate to go is Korpisalo. It will just be a matter of finding a team willing to take on his contract.
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