The Boston Bruins are in the middle of their worst stretch of hockey in recent memory. They have lost 16 of their last 19 contests and sit with the 26th-best record in the NHL; the way their team is playing, it is not unlikely that they will be a bottom-five team in the league when it is all said and done eight games from now.
The Bruins sold at the deadline, getting rid of Trent Frederic, Brandon Carlo, Justin Brazeau, Charlie Coyle, and, of course, Brad Marchand. That said, it would be surprising if the team did not continue to retool this offseason ahead of the NHL Draft and the start of next season. Let’s take a look at a player the Bruins should consider moving: Joonas Korpisalo.
An Enticing Candidate
Korpisalo has arguably been the better of the two netminders on the Bruins this season. While he and Jeremy Swayman have identical save percentages (SV%) at a meager .893, Korpisalo has a lower goals-against average and has won a higher percentage of the games he has started (though he has had a far lighter workload than the Bruins’ starter). The Bruins took a chance on acquiring the 30-year-old goaltender last offseason. He had a down year playing for the Ottawa Senators in 2023-24, and it is safe to say that his play has improved a year later.
While his numbers do not jump off the page, partially as a result of a few ugly starts mixed in, Korpisalo has generally been on his game and has passed the eye test for the majority of the season. While his appearance against the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night (March 26) was his worst in a while, he was coming off a stretch of five consecutive starts where he allowed three or fewer goals, an impressive run given how much the Bruins have struggled on defense this season. Many teams would love to have a steady-handed veteran who has shown the potential to get hot like Korpisalo, especially at $4 million per year.
Low-Risk Move
Moving Korpisalo also makes sense for the Bruins. Providence Bruins’ netminder Michael DiPietro is a pending restricted free agent, and he has had a spectacular season playing in the American Hockey League (AHL), allowing just over two goals per game and putting up an impressive .928 SV%. DiPietro has more than earned a fair shot at the NHL roster at this point, as he has done nothing but dominate in Providence for two seasons.
If the Bruins expect Swayman to bounce back from the down year he is having, which they should hope given that his contract with the team runs for another seven years, they would only need DiPietro to start 25-30 games for them, and they would likely be able to sign him around the $1 million mark, a price cut from Korpisalo. The Bruins do not exactly have a ton of cap space after some questionable moves from general manager Don Sweeney last offseason, so trading Korpisalo would both save them money against the cap and give DiPietro the chance that he has earned.
Tough Decision
Trading Korpisalo would not be an easy move: he has already been traded once on his current contract, and he is set to stay in Boston through the end of the 2027-28 season as things stand at the moment. That said, teams need to make difficult decisions like this when they are in the position that the Bruins are in, particularly when they have the opportunity to move money off the books in favor of giving a younger player an opportunity, as they do here.
