Boston Bruins trade rumors involving veteran goalie Joonas Korpisalo are nothing new. According to prevailing chatter, the Bruins could be looking to move Korpisalo this season.
One behind-the-scenes rumor posits that the Bruins had a deal in place with a Western Conference team looking to add goaltending depth.
A January 9 piece in RG Media claimed that the Bruins had a tentative deal with the San Jose Sharks. The deal would have sent Korpisalo to the Sharks.
An anonymous NHL executive reportedly stated:
“I had heard the Sharks were a potential team, but that’s not going to happen now obviously.”
The “obviously” refers to the trade the Sharks made with the Chicago Blackhawks to land Laurent Brossoit. Brossoit was coming off hip surgery and looking for a fresh start. The Blackhawks didn’t have room for Brossoit, and the Sharks wanted some veteran insurance. Hence, the deal made sense for both the Blackhawks and the Sharks.
But before the Sharks and Blackhawks shook hands, San Jose kicked the tires on Korpisalo. The apparent sticking point is Korpisalo’s cap hit. He’s got two more years at $3 million. The Ottawa Senators retained $1 million in the trade that sent Linus Ullmark to the Canadian capital.
That said, Brossoit has a higher cap hit. But he’s on an expiring contract. As such, Brossoit’s cap hit wasn’t a major hurdle for San Jose.
In the meantime, the talk is that the Bruins will be looking to move on from Korpisalo to make way for prospect Michael DiPietro. The 26-year-old has been tearing up the AHL and has pretty much earned a real shot at the NHL.
If the Bruins can’t trade Korpisalo, it seems like the only real path forward could be to waive him and call up DiPietro.
It seems like a tough road ahead for Korpisalo unless he can turn his numbers around in the coming days. The Bruins need to spell Jeremy Swayman, making a reliable backup a significant priority.