Joonas Korpisalo was brought in by the Boston Bruins to act as insurance of sorts as Jeremy Swayman was in a contract dispute with the team.
However, the Bruins knew that Korpisalo wasn't exactly a stud. Last season, he had a 3.27 GAA and a .890 save percentage. These are not the numbers of a primary goaltender. That said, he got the start in the Bruins' season opener where he ended up letting in a total of six goals on 35 shots.
Despite this poor performance, he actually got a nice co-sign from his head coach, who said he was not the problem. Instead, Jim Montgomery pointed towards the defense, which was fairly lackluster.
'Korpisalo was not a problem tonight,' Montgomery explained. 'It was the people in front of him. You can't give up four backdoor tap-ins and expect your goalie to make save after save. He made a lot of saves on breakaways. He was good tonight.'
According to Bruins Insider, Korpisalo is a bit of a project for Bob Essensa. The team wants to give Korpisalo some time, and perhaps from there, they can really do some good work with him. However, the outlet notes that if Korpisalo cannot turn his performances around, then it might be a good idea to just trade him and find a different backup.
Whatever the case may be, the Bruns have Swayman back which is good enough in their eyes. At the end of the day, your main goalie is who wins you Cups. But if the Bruins want some extra wins in the middle of the season, Korpisalo may not cut it.
