Columbus Blue Jackets: Joonas Korpisalo’s Time to Step Up

The Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender has had a rough start to the season, but the start of 2019 will hopefully be a spark for change in Joonas Korpisalo.

The Columbus Blue Jackets need Joonas Korpisalo to live up to his once highly touted potential. He had a rough 2018, however he entered in relief of Sergei Bobrovsky on the fourth and played his best hockey of the season to this point.

Bobrovsky gave up three goals before being pulled, then Korpisalo shut down the Carolina Hurricanes for the rest of the night. Unfortunately for Korpisalo, he wouldn’t be able to further pad his win/loss record as the team would fall short in that game.

More from Union and Blue

• Blaming Columbus Blue Jacket Players for Babcock Fallout is Unfair
• The Mike Babcock Experiment in Columbus Has Failed
• Blue Jacket Prospects Win Traverse City Tournament: Who Stood Out?
• Mike Babcock Resigns as CBJ Head Coach: Reaction
• New Claims Bring Higher Level of Concern to Babcock Situation

Korpisalo’s an interesting goaltender as he plays well when he comes into the game in relief for Bobrovsky, however when he gets a start he tends to give up a minimum of three or four goals.

With the uncertainty in the goaltending position going forward and an abundance of potential Blue Jackets prospects in that position, it seems as if Korpisalo is going to need to improve statistically if he hopes to stick around.

If Sergei Bobrovsky does re-sign, his chances of staying at his current level of play are slim. If Bobrovsky leaves, then there’s more of a chance for him to stay whether it be as a starter or remaining as the backup.

Many fans are hyped about the potential of Elvis Merzlikins, however the two goaltenders in the organization with the most potential are also not far off of being NHL ready.

Daniil Tarasov is the furthest away from reaching the NHL, however Veini Vehvilainen could be just two or three years off of being ready. Vehvilainen has been the best goaltender in the Finnish Liiga and as a result he’ll be given a long look by Blue Jackets management when they look for future goaltenders.

Joonas Korpisalo has some work to do if he wants to be a long term option for the Blue Jackets, however he’s off to a good start in 2019.