The clock is winding down until the Columbus Blue Jackets lose a player in the expansion draft.
The Vegas Golden Knights will create a dent in the Columbus Blue Jackets roster no matter who they take. That being said, they’d be mistaken to not take one certain player.
Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky will be protected, meaning Joonas Korpisalo will be exposed. If the Golden Knights want to immediately establish a solid back end, they should select Korpisalo.
A young player with a bright future
At only 23-years old, Korpisalo has displayed great potential. Every NHL team is able to protect one goalie, and not all of them have more than one goalie worth being taken.
Korpisalo put together some incredible performances on a bad 2015-16 Jackets team and filled in well as a backup this past year, making him a viable selection.
Columbus Blue Jackets
There are arguments about the goaltender regressing this past season. Given the sample size, those arguments don’t have a lot of credibility.
He played 14 regular season games for the Columbus Blue Jackets, as well as 16 more in the AHL. That’s not a lot of games in one year.
Statistically, his NHL goals allowed per game average only lowered by 0.28. That’s not bad for a backup who spent most of his games watching an all-star caliber goalie between the pipes.
In a comparison to Bobrovsky, Korpisalo and he had similar numbers through their first two NHL seasons. Korpisalo is still not in his prime, and when he enters it he will be Bobrovsky-esque.
Head coach John Tortorella has praised Korpisalo ever since he’s been up with the team. He is the reason that the team was able to trade a serviceable veteran in Curtis McElhinney this past season.
The new NHL franchise in Las Vegas will have a couple of good options at goalie. That said, they’d be crazy to not have Korpisalo at the top of their list.
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