Free agency is only a week away, and while we shouldn’t expect the Los Angeles Kings to be overly active, goaltending remains a major topic for the team.
Joonas Korpisalo is set to become a UFA as of July 1, after being acquired by from the Columbus Blue Jackets at the trade deadline.
The netminder may not necessarily have a huge sample size of being a high-end starter, but he posted excellent numbers in his limited stint with the Kings, registering a .921 save percentage in 11 regular season games, and also started all of the team’s playoff games.
If the Kings opt to re-sign him, they should be able to do it at a fairly reasonable rate, without giving out a ton of term. I’ve already done a contract projection for Korpisalo at HockeyComparables.com, which can be viewed here:
While Korpisalo does come with some uncertainty in his ability to be a legitimate, long-term starter, he remains one of the team’s better options in net. Los Angeles doesn’t have much cap space, and there really aren’t a ton of other quality netminders on the market.
Perhaps the most established starter available in free agency would be Tristan Jarry, but he’s going to be due for a more expensive contract. Adin Hill is also fresh off a Stanley Cup win, but could end up getting paid quite a bit as well as a result, despite not much experience as a starter. Frederik Andersen could be another veteran goalie available, but he’s become fairly injury-prone over the last few seasons.
I’ve also projected contracts for both Tristan Jarry and Frederik Andersen, for those interested in what it could cost to bring in either goaltender.
The trade route is always an option as well, with the likes of Connor Hellebuyck and John Gibson likely available. However, Hellebuyck has a single year left on his deal and would essentially need to be willing to sign an extension, while Gibson has seen his performance decline over the last few years and plays on a divisional rival. Plus, either netminder would cost significant assets, which could hinder the Kings’ ability to continue building for the future.
So we’ll see where this goes. Again, I don’t think you can be sure that Korpisalo is a long-term solution in net, but he may be one of the team’s best options right now. If the Kings do opt to go a different direction, it would be safe to assume it’s because they already have an alternative plan in place, and we should know who’s replacing him in about a week’s time, once Korpisalo himself is hitting free agency.
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