Net Gain: Senators GM Dorion thrilled with addition of Korpisalo

On Canada Day in the nation’s capital, the Ottawa Senators went for a Royal Canadian Mountie theme. 

They got their man. 

With goaltending a top priority as NHL free agency opened on Saturday, Ottawa general manager Pierre Dorion wasn’t fooling around – lavishing a five-year, $4-million US contract on Joonas Korpisalo, most recently of the Los Angeles Kings. 

The dollars are great value for a goaltender of Korpisalo’s pedigree. And if we might quibble with the five-year term for a 29-year-old who had hip surgery a little more than a year ago, Dorion went the extra mile to make sure he got his man as goalies began to fly off the board. Among them were the Carolina Hurricanes’ duo of Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta, who stayed with that club. Ottawa had particular interest in Andersen but was happy to land Korpisalo. 

Dorion feels that after the upper tier of Andrei Vasilevskiy and one or two others, Korpisalo is right there among the next tier of NHL goalies. In fact, the Sens GM has liked him since his draft year in 2012 (third round, Columbus Blue Jackets). 

“He’s got size, he’s athletic, he’s powerful, he’s played in the playoffs, he’s won a series,” Dorion told reporters at the Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday. 

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Senators goalie coaches Zac Bierk and Justin Peters have told Dorion that Korpisalo is “just scratching the surface, with a lot of upside there.”

Because goaltenders tend to peak later than skaters, the Senators feel they are getting Korpisalo in his prime years.

For Korpisalo, the contract peaks in 2024-25 at $5 million, then diminishes to $3 million in the final year, 2027-28. 

The six-foot-three Finn had a fascinating ride in 2022-23. He was stellar on a poor Columbus Blue Jackets team, posting a .913 save percentage and 3.13 goals-against average. Then he moved over to the Kings at the deadline and stole the starting job from Pheonix Copley, going 7-3-1 down the stretch with a 2.13 GAA and .921 save percentage. 

In the playoffs, Korpisalo faced the brunt of an Edmonton Oilers onslaught and the results were not pretty. The Oilers scored nearly four goals per game, for a 3.77 GAAt and .892 save percentage in six games, with Korpisalo the goalie of record in all four Kings losses. 

That appears to have been enough to give L.A. pause about re-signing Korpisalo, who earned just $1.3 million last season. It also may have kept Korpisalo’s price down in free agency, opening the door for the Senators. 

Korpisalo’s arrival helps ease the pressure on incumbent Anton Forsberg, who suffered MCL tears in both knees last season. 

It also allows prospect Mads Sogaard to get more time in the AHL with Belleville, with a potential callup or two due to injury or illness. And there is depth, with prospects Kevin Mandolese and Leevi Merilainen also in the system. 

With Forsberg at $2.75 million this season, the Senators get a solid tandem for a total of $6.75 million.

“That contract, that term, that tandem – we’re really comfortable moving forward now with our goaltending,” said Dorion, who smiled readily at this news conference. 

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The pair certainly won’t need an introduction. 

Together, Forsberg and Korpisalo led the AHL Lake Erie Monsters to a Calder Cup championship in 2016, and it was Forsberg who stole the show with a 9-0 playoff record. His goals-against average was 1.34 and his save percentage was .949. 

Korpisalo had a more modest 6-2-0 record, .898 save percentage and 2.96 GAA.

He told a TV reporter Saturday that he loves the look of the up and coming Senators and feels he and Forsberg will be a solid “one-two punch.”

“Varying degrees of interest” in DeBrincat  

We got a chance to ask Dorion about the Alex DeBrincat situation and he relayed that there are still a lot of options and a range of interest elsewhere in the scoring winger. 

“We have to look at alternative solutions,” Dorion said. “He has indicated that he will not sign here long term. That doesn’t mean he won’t sign (here) short term. We like the player. If the player comes back for a year, nothing wrong with that.”

Continuing his familiar sales pitch on DeBrincat’s value, Dorion noted that DeBrincat scored 27 last season but could have had many more and is a proven 40-goal scorer. 

This part was interesting, when asked about the level of interest around the league:

“There’s varying degrees of interest,” Dorion said. “Teams call, you get close to a deal. I give them permission (to negotiate with DeBrincat’s agent) and sometimes maybe they’re not ready to pay the term we’re ready to pay. He’s 25 years old and is looking for something particular.”

Teams look at DeBrincat and then look around elsewhere, Dorion says. Maybe they will circle back, he adds. 

“When that arbitration period comes, we’re going to have to make a decision,” Dorion says. 

With the flat salary cap and DeBrincat trying to hit a home run, things have stalled. But that could change. 

“There’s multiple factors here, but we’re just going to do what’s right for the organization,” Dorion said. “Alex has been nothing but great here . . .  he practises hard, plays hard, likes to score goals. We’ll have no problem if he comes back.”

Stay tuned for developments. 

GM likes his depth 

While it has been expected that Ottawa would shore up its bottom-six forward depth in free agency, Dorion says he is pretty satisfied with his depth at forward and defence – and now at goal with the addition of Korpisalo. 

That said, if DeBrincat gets moved, opening up cap space, look for Ottawa to add forward depth, either in that trade directly or the trade plus free agency. 

Dorion reminded us that the team recently signed Czechia’s Jiri Smejkal, a forward who scored 23 goals and had 20 assists in Sweden’s top league last season. The six-foot-four Smejkal is 26 and has experience playing in the WHL with Kamloops and Moose Jaw.

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“I talked about it at the year-end press conference, we want to see a bit of a change in our bottom six and internal competition is not bad,” Dorion said. “We’ve got the guys, we’re going to give you a chance.”

He added that he will be looking for outside help as well. 

“We’ll see where the next few days take us,” Dorion said, suggesting this doesn’t look like one of those years where most of the free agents are gone in the first day or two. 

Dorion said he continues to speak to UFA defenceman Travis Hamonic, who might have a chance to sign back with Ottawa once the DeBrincat situation is settled and management has a better idea on its cap flexibility. 

Brannstrom, Bernard-Docker signed

In other moves Saturday, the Senators reached terms with two of their restricted free agents — defencemen Erik Brannstrom and Jacob Bernard-Docker. 

Brannstrom signed a one-year deal worth $2 million. Bernard-Docker earns an AAV of $805,000 on a two-year contract.

Brannstrom, who came to Ottawa in the Mark Stone trade of 2019, established himself as a regular with the Senators for the first time last season. Brannstrom, 23, had career highs in games played (74), points (16) and penalty minutes (18).

The fact he is on a one-year deal means he has to prove himself all over again for a regular job, here or elsewhere. 

Bernard-Docker spent most of his season with Belleville of the AHL but did appear in 19 games for Ottawa, registering one assist.

The Senators made several other in-house moves to shore up their Belleville roster. The biggest minor league deal went to former QMJHL centre Matthew Highmore, who will earn $400,000 in the AHL, $775,000 at the NHL level. 

Other veterans signed: Rourke Chartier, Josh Currie, Boko Imama and Garrett Pilon.

More from Sportsnet

Ottawa Senators sign defenceman Jacob Bernard-Docker to two-year deal

Ottawa Senators re-sign Erik Brannstrom to one-year, $2M deal

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