Korpisalo signs 5-year, $20 million contract with Senators
Goalie was 18-14-4 with Blue Jackets, Kings last season
ByNHL.com @NHLdotcom
Joonas Korpisalo signed a five-year, $20 million contract with the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. It has an annual average value of $4 million.
The 29-year-old goalie was 18-14-4 with a 2.87 goals-against average, .915 save percentage and one shutout in 39 games (37 starts) for the Los Angeles Kings and Columbus Blue Jackets last season, including 7-3-1 with a 2.13 GAA, .921 save percentage and one shutout in 11 regular-season games after he was acquired in a trade with the Blue Jackets on March 1.
"Everything happened really quickly yesterday," Korpisalo said. "It's a hectic day and there's so much going on. Ottawa stood out right there. Playing against that team, it's not fun being a goalie being at the other end. I wanted to be part of the team for many years to come and I'm excited about it."
Korpisalo was 2-4 with a 3.77 GAA and .892 save percentage in six Stanley Cup Playoff games last season. He joins the Senators after they were 39-35-8 last season, six points behind the Florida Panthers for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"It's a long-term process and where the team is right now, I want to be part of that for years to come," he said.
Selected by Columbus in the third round (No. 62) of the 2012 NHL Draft, Korpisalo is 94-81-25 with a 3.01 GAA, .904 save percentage and four shutouts in 221 regular-season games (201 starts) for the Kings and Blue Jackets, and 5-9 with a 2.59 GAA, .922 save percentage and two shutouts in 15 playoff games.
Korpisalo will share the goaltending with Anton Forsberg. The two were teammates in the Blue Jackets organization.
"We go a long way back," Korpisalo said. "When I first came over to the U.S. we played together in the minors in Cleveland (of the American Hockey League) for a couple of years. We won together there and then we spent some time in Columbus. So we go a long way back and we became friends immediately when we met each other. I'm super happy we created this tandem again."
NHL.com staff writer Mike Zeisberger contributed to this report
