EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — There is no How-To manual for entering a new situation after you’ve been traded for a franchise legend who is probably going to eventually have a statue sculpted in his likeness and erected in front of the home arena he played in.
As it turns out, Joonas Korpisalo has handled things incredibly well since joining the Los Angeles Kings in what has been described as a jaw-dropping deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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Kings general manager Rob Blake was looking for an upgrade in goal, so he sent two-time Stanley Cup winner Jonathan Quick, a conditional first-rounder in 2023, and a second-rounder in 2024 for Korpisalo and defenceman Vladislav Gavrikov.
Not only has Korpisalo helped bolster a netminding tandem that includes season-saving success story Pheonix Copley, but he’s one of the main reasons the Kings are locked in a battle for both first place in the Pacific Division and the Western Conference.
“I’ve said it 10 times before. No one can replace that guy. Quick was a guy I always looked up to when I was younger,” Korpisalo said in a recent interview at the Kings’ practice facility. “He is so athletic. Every time I played against him, there was that extra little something. He’s Jonathan Quick and I’m me and I’m just trying to be myself here and do the stuff that I do best. I can’t do more than that.”
Smart words to live by, but given the position he plays and the guy he’s replacing there was certainly some additional pressure attached to Korpisalo’s arrival.
Kings head coach Todd McLellan has been using a simple rotation for Korpisalo and Copley, who helped stabilize things in the crease as both Cal Petersen and Quick struggled early in the season.
Suddenly, the Kings’ playoff chances could hinge on the play of two players who weren’t even on the opening-day roster.
“(He’s) a competitor,” said McLellan. “I know they’re all competitors in the NHL, but you watch him in practice and even when he’s tired, he wants to stop everything, so that’s a real healthy thing. He’s accepting of his role on our team right now, where we’re keeping both goaltenders, for lack of a better term, alive, alert and ready.”
Whether McLellan decides to continue the rotation or ultimately declares a starter going into the Stanley Cup playoffs will be a storyline to monitor.
Being on an expiring contract with a franchise that has been well out of the playoff race for a long time meant that Korpisalo understood there was a pretty good chance he would be on the move. Even when he became one of the growing list of players that was held out of the lineup for trade related reasons, Korpisalo didn’t spend much time speculating where he might land.
“The whole process came pretty quick. You have an idea you might get traded and what-not,” said Korpisalo, who has gone 4-2-1 with a 1.86 goals-against average and .933 save percentage in seven games since the move. “But there was nothing major until they pulled me out of the lineup. Then I knew I was actually getting traded.”
Moving to a team battling for first place after spending time on one in or near the basement for much of the season was a welcome change.
“It’s a different atmosphere, for sure,” said Korpisalo, who worked his way back after undergoing season-ending hip surgery in 2021-22. “Everyone tries hard, for sure, no matter where you’re at but winning games brings the mood up. That was really cool to jump in here.”
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Korpisalo appeared in nine playoff games during the 2019-20 season, including a five-overtime marathon 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Aug. 11.
“That was crazy,” said Korpisalo, who finished with 85 saves. “That was exciting. The game kept going on and on and on. We lost the game, but it’s something you always remember. That was a fun game. The feeling after the game was that you were completely depleted and then you go again in a couple of days. That’s the playoffs and that’s the best part.”
Having Gavrikov with him has certainly eased the transition process.
“One-hundred per cent. Especially when we were on our way here and the first couple of days,” said Korpisalo. “It was the first time for both of us being on a new team. Exciting times and we were both pretty lost at the beginning with all of the new things and new people.”
Korpisalo will be an unrestricted free agent for the second time of his career this summer, but he’s confident his future will take care of itself, as long as he takes care of business in the crease.
“Of course it’s there, but I’m sure things are going to pan out,” said Korpisalo, originally chosen by the Blue Jackets in the third round, 62nd overall, of the 2012 NHL Draft. “But we’ll see. I’m really happy here.”
No doubt, the Kings are also happy to have him.
X MARKS THE SPOT
The total number of teams that have clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs is up to eight, with six of those teams in the Eastern Conference and two in the West.
After locking up a playoff spot a couple of weeks ago, the Boston Bruins clinched the Presidents’ Trophy on Friday and they are awaiting the results of what is still a four-way battle for the wild card, thanks to a resurgence for the Buffalo Sabres.
Going into Sunday’s action, the New York Islanders are tied in points with the Florida Panthers, whose 7-0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday allowed them to leapfrog the Pittsburgh Penguins by one point — though the Penguins hold a game in hand.
The Sabres are four points out and have virtually zero margin for error, but don’t seem to be going away, going 4-0-1 after a four-game losing skid (0-3-1) put their playoff hopes in peril.
The Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers have all locked up spots in the Metropolitan and continue to jockey for playoff positioning, while the highly-anticipated battle between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs became a reality on Saturday night.
Over in the West, the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers are the only teams to sew up a playoff berth, though that number is going to be on the rise in the coming days, with seven spots essentially spoken for and a three-team race for the final wild-card berth involving the Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators.
The Jets are currently up by two points over the Flames (even in games played) and three up on the Predators (who hold two games in hand).
That spot could be in clearer focus by the end of next Saturday’s action as the Jets have head-to-head matchups this week with both the Flames (on Wednesday) and Predators (on Saturday).
The other race folks in many markets are paying attention to — the Connor Bedard sweepstakes — had some movement this week as well, with the San Jose Sharks moving out of the basement by securing three wins.
As of right now, it’s the Chicago Blackhawks in 32nd spot with 54 points, the Blue Jackets just behind in points percentage, followed by the Anaheim Ducks, the Sharks, and the Montreal Canadiens rounding out the bottom-5.
Ducks head coach Dallas Eakins shared some important thoughts on how his team has handled what was clearly a rebuilding situation.
“It’s a simple mindset and it’s one that I try to live by, because if you’re going to be in there trying to infect people with something, you better be living it yourself. It’s two words, win today and that’s it,” said Eakins, who brought the mindset to the organization when he became the head coach of the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League in 2015. “I don’t care what it is. Did you win your sleep? Did you win your diet? Did you get enough reps in the weight room? How was your practice today? Did you get some time in with a coach, video-wise? Whatever that is, you’re going to check these (boxes) off every day.
“Now, you’re not going to be able to do it every day and that’s the discipline part. Eventually you’re going to blow something off, you’re going to fail along the way and that’s okay. We get right back to you learn from it, here we are and stay more in a neutral mindset.”
Eakins was just getting warmed up and you could tell by the tone of his voice that going through the process wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows either.
“The one thing we’re not doing around here, we haven’t done it all year — and it’s been a hard year — I don’t go in here with that (B.S.) and say, ‘let’s be positive,’ ” he said. “What is there to really be positive about? We are going to be positive about those little wins that we’ve got going on, but we’re not going to be positive about being in 28th place or whatever the hell it is.
“But we are going to stay neutral in what can we get better at and what can we celebrate that we are doing well and to keep doing that? I’m not a big ‘Be positive guy’ because a lot of that can be a lie. It could be a false narrative, but one thing we are not going though, we are not going to be negative around here.”
Eakins made it clear this mantra won’t change when the Ducks work their way into contender status.
“The other side of it, just to finish it up, is this isn’t just something that is for a rebuilding team,” said Eakins. “It’s really important. In San Diego, when we were winning a lot, when we were reeling off eight wins in a row, it was even more important because what it does then is that it makes you not become complacent.
“Complacency is gross. That is a bad place to go. That’s how we kind of feel around here and hey, there are challenges along the way, but it’s really important, whether you’re having great success or in the mud trying to dig out of it, that you stay neutral (and focus) on what do we need to do today to be better? It’s as simple as that.”
RAPID FIRE
The century club welcomed a fifth member on Saturday, with Bruins sniper David Pastrnak joining the group that already included Connor McDavid (146), Leon Draisaitl (120), Nikita Kucherov (106) and Matthew Tkachuk (102). Pastrnak was one of five players to notch a hat trick on Saturday, giving him 56 goals on the campaign (second only to McDavid’s 62), eclipsing his previous high of 47 (2019-20) in what is the first 100-point season of his nine-year NHL career.
Draisaitl, Carter Verhaeghe, Noah Gregor and Alex Tuch were the others to score at least three goals on Saturday (Verhaeghe had four). Draisaitl’s outburst gave him 50 goals for the third time in his career. With one of those goals coming on the power play, the Oilers forward is up to 30 on the man-advantage this season. It was just the fifth time in NHL history a player has notched 30 power-play markers — joining Tim Kerr of the Philadelphia Flyers (34 in 1985-86), Dave Andreychuck of the Sabres/Maple Leafs (32 in 1992-93), Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins (31 in 1995-96) and Joe Nieuwendyk of the Calgary Flames (31 in 1987-88).
Before moving away from the Oilers, a quick note of appreciation for the season forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has put together. While McDavid and Draisaitl continue to put up video-game like totals, the first-overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft has already smashed his career bests for goals (35), assists (62) and points (97). His previous highs in all three categories came in 2018-19 (28 goals, 41 assists, 69 points), making the renaissance all the more impressive. There was plenty of discussion and debate over Oilers general manager Ken Holland signing Nugent-Hopkins to an eight-year, $41 million extension ($5.12 million AAV, which represented a slight pay cut from the $6 million he made annually on his previous seven-year pact) and while there are still six years left on the deal, Nugent-Hopkins (who turns 30 on April 12) has provided excellent value in these first two seasons.
By collecting a goal and four points in Friday’s win over the Arizona Coyotes, Dallas Stars left-winger Jason Robertson surpassed Hall of Famer Mike Modano for the most points in a single season in franchise history. What made the moment even more special for Robertson was the fact Modano was in the building and posed for a photo with him afterward. By chipping in two more assists on Saturday, Robertson is up to 42 goals and 97 points in 76 games. Modano put together consecutive 93-point seasons in Minnesota (1992-93) and Dallas (1993-94).
What an NHL debut for Sharks blue-liner Henry Thrun, who collected a pair of assists in the first period of Thursday’s 4-3 overtime win over the Golden Knights. Thrun, originally chosen in the fourth round (101st overall) by the Ducks in the 2019 NHL Draft, was thrust into the lineup mere days after completing his junior season with the Harvard Crimson of the NCAA and he made an immediate impact. The Crimson captain finished with just under 19 minutes of ice time against the Golden Knights and one of the coolest moments of the game was seeing the reaction of his mother, watching Henry experience his dream. The Sharks traded a third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft to acquire the rights to Thrun, then signed him to a two-year, entry-level deal on Mar. 25.
Sabres top goalie prospect Devon Levi made an NHL debut of his own on Friday night, turning aside 31 of 33 shots in a 3-2 overtime victory over the Rangers. Team Canada’s world junior standout in 2021 rocked a .939 save percentage in his first NHL action and it will be fascinating to see how he factors into the playoff chase over the final two weeks of the regular season, with Sabres goalies Uuko-Pekka Luukkonen, Craig Anderson, and Eric Comrie also in the mix.
