Senators Land Their No.1 Priority in Joonas Korpisalo – Alex DeBrincat Update and More

Joonas Korpisalo called the opening day of unrestricted free agency “hectic.”

And that it was, as Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion landed the club’s no.1 target in the Finnish netminder.

Korpisalo and the Senators agreed to a deal carrying a $4 million average annual value that will keep the 29-year-old in Ottawa for the next five seasons.

The #goSensGo have signed Joonas Korpisalo to a five-year deal worth #3.4M a season. #NHL pic.twitter.com/TKoLgKqhZJ

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Terms of the contract which includes a 10-team no-trade clause for the duration:

$4M in 2023-24

$5M in 2024-25

$4.5M in 2025-26

$3.5M in 2026-27

$3M in 2027-28

Whether it was via free agency or trade, Dorion felt goaltending was his club’s biggest offseason need.

“Over the last few years, we felt our biggest need was addressing goaltending. We felt we feel we’ve addressed today. In acquiring Joonas Korpisalo, for us, he’s got size. He’s athletic. He’s powerful. He’s played in the playoffs and won a series. He’s someone that our goaltending coaches in the NHL (Zac Bierk) and in the minors (Justin Peters) feel that he’s just scratching the surface. So, there’s a lot of upside there. For us, it was someone that we’re really excited to sign. We liked the ($4 million) AV, obviously fits well with what we’re trying to do. We like the term, he’s going to play for us,” Dorion said during his media availability Saturday inside the Canadian Tire Centre.

Acquired by the Los Angeles Kings at the trade deadline from the Columbus Blue Jackets, Korpisalo played a career-high 39 regular season games, posting a combined 2.87 goals against average and .914 save percentage, his best since his 2015-16 rookie campaign (.920).

The eight-year NHL veteran was hot down the stretch, going 7-3-1 with the Kings, starting all six postseason games of what was an eventual four-games-to-two defeat at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers in the 2023 playoffs opening round.

“It was a hectic day today, there were a couple of options, and Ottawa stood up right away,” Korpisalo said in a TSN Trade Centre interview. “Playing against them it’s a really capable team that’s only going to get better. I’m just super excited to get to work with them. Anton Forsberg is there and I think that’s going to be a good one-two punch right there.”

Forsberg who has begun to skate after sustaining dual MCL injuries in February and Korpisalo were brief American League and NHL teammates in the Columbus organization between 2014 to 2017.

To his credit, Dorion discussed bringing in the former Blue Jackets’ backstop with Forsberg prior to the signing.

“We’re excited to have him in that Anton Forsberg and him have a history. I believe they talked earlier today, and I think Anton gave a good recommendation to us between 12 and 1230 pm, or something like that when we got the news. So, we’re really excited about that.”

The Senators had their eyes on Korpisalo for quite a while and made inquiries about him at the trade deadline. In addition; Dorion consulted with his goalie coaches Zac Bierk and Justin Peters on his newest acquisition.

“Zac did a lot of work as far as finding out about character and remember when I got back from the playoffs and Anton (Forsberg) was still here. I asked Anton. He said he’d be a great fit. He’s a hard worker.”

As for Mads Sogaard who’s played only 85 professional games in parts of three seasons, it behooves him to gain more experience at that level.

Dorion explained, “There’s nothing wrong with dominating at the AHL level. I don’t think there is. I think you guys got to give him time. We saw Mads this year come up. I think he got NHL Rookie of the Month for a month and then there were some inconsistencies in his game. And there’s nothing wrong with giving time in the AHL to develop. I don’t think you can have too much goaltending you look at how many guys played for us last year.”

As for the Alex DeBrincat situation, everything is status quo for the time being.

#FullPressHockeyWeekly w/ @JimBiringer and @ChrisWasselDFS – 7/1 – #NHLFreeAgency Mayhem, Best/Worst Signings https://t.co/vaVnn2zBvh

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However, the Senators’ GM was able to provide a tad more information than in his previous availabilities.

“Obviously we have to look at alternative solutions. He has indicated to us that he will not sign here long-term. That doesn’t mean he won’t sign short-term. We’d like to clarify if the player comes back next year, there’s nothing wrong with that. He scored 27. Two goals were called back. I think there were 15-16 crossbar/posts. If you’ve put him in a position where maybe he gets to play with Timmy (Stutzle) or Josh (Norris), I think it’s a different story and he’d probably help us be better team,” Dorion noted.

“There’s varying degrees of interest. Teams call, we get close to a deal. I give them permission. Sometimes they’re not ready to pay the term that we’re ready to pay. I think he’s 25 years old. So, I think he’s looking for something in particular and I can talk about it because we own his rights. So, I think the degrees vary, I think a lot of teams are in on other players, and maybe if they don’t get them today, they would be interested later on today or tomorrow or the day after. There’s a cap, and the cap isn’t going up by a lot, and teams have to work with it – and, you know, it’s getting a deal done at the same time. There’s multiple factors here, but we’re trying to do what’s right for the organization. Alex has been nothing to but great here. We’ve all seen him. He’s a bit quiet. You know hard he practices and plays. We’ve got no problems with him.”

If a deal isn’t consummated in the following days ahead, the Senators will have a date with the arbitrator later in July, attempting to lower his pending $9 million salary to $7.85 M. Having one year at a reasonable value may make it easier to move DeBrincat.

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Dorion wasn’t done there, inking two pending restricted free agent d-men in Erik Brannstrom and Jacob Bernard-Docker.

Brannstrom signed a one-year, $2 million contract, while Bernard-Docker received a two-year deal with an average annual value of $805,000.

“With Erik Brannstrom, he’s someone that I think last year we saw, especially when we had injuries. He was able to move up in the lineup. He moves the puck, we’re happy to have him play for us another year.”

“In JBD, it was just more about Bernard-Docker, he’s a player that every time he comes up, he gets better. I think he’s knocking on the door if he’s not already an NHL defenseman. It just gives us options,” Dorion commented.

Another defenseman, free agent Travis Hamonic is in a holding pattern. The Senators would like Hamonic to return. However, until DeBrincat’s status is sorted, Hamonic will have to wait it out due to remaining salary allocation.

Dorion wasn’t finished with this pair of signings, adding another five players on two-way deals, two of whom may be able to crack the NHL roster at any given point next season.

Forward Matthew Highmore is a depth forward who wouldn’t look out of place in a fourth-line role if called upon. The 27-year-old has played parts of five NHL seasons for Chicago, Vancouver, and St. Louis, appearing in 139 regular season games, plus another nine in the 2020 playoffs where he tallied three goals for the Blackhawks.

Boko Imama is a six-foot-one, 221-pound gritty left wing who’s not shy to drop the gloves or toss a heavy check.

Imama, Highmore, and current Senators, Thomas Chabot, and Mathieu Joseph were all teammates on the 2016-17 Quebec Junior League champion Saint Jean Sea Dogs.

The Senators re-signed forward Rourke Chartier who netted 20 goals for Belleville and appeared in six games with the parent team last season.

Two more forwards Josh Currie (Mettalurg KHL) and Garrett Pilon from the AHL Calder Cup winning Hershey Bears were also signed.