Joonas Korpisalo

Joonas Korpisalo was born on April 28, 1994, in Pori, Finland, and selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third round — first pick of that round — of the 2012 NHL Draft. He stands 6'4" and catches left. More than a decade after that selection, he is in his 334th career NHL game, wearing number 70 for the Boston Bruins.

Korpisalo made his NHL debut with Columbus and stayed with the Blue Jackets organization through the 2021-22 season, becoming the longest-tenured goaltender in franchise history during that stretch. His first full-season opportunity came in 2015-16, when he appeared in 31 games, went 16-11, posted a 2.60 goals-against average, and saved at a .920 clip — numbers that would prove to be among the best of his career. He returned to that 2.60 GAA mark again in 2019-20, going 19-12 in 37 appearances with a .911 save percentage and two shutouts, the most productive win total of his Blue Jackets years.

His Columbus tenure included seasons of varying workload as he shared crease time with Elvis Merzlikins. When he signed a two-year, $5.6-million contract with the Blue Jackets, it marked a milestone in a development path that his former goaltending coach Ian Clark described in detail on the InGoal Radio podcast. Clark, who spent time as Columbus's goaltending coach before returning to Vancouver, spoke about Korpisalo's patience — specifically his ability to hold his edges and avoid prematurely committing on shots or passes — as a central part of what the team worked to cultivate in him. Clark recalled a moment when Korpisalo stared down Steven Stamkos on a 5-on-3 power play, letting Stamkos edge closer and closer before finally yielding a five-hole goal — and how head coach John Tortorella was displeased while Clark told the room he "couldn't be happier with that goal." That anecdote, and the broader philosophy behind it, is the subject of a 2020 InGoal article by Kevin Woodley ^[1].

After the 2021-22 season — in which he went 7-11 with a 4.15 GAA in 22 games — Korpisalo was on the move. He joined the Los Angeles Kings for 2022-23 and appeared in 11 games, going 7-3 with a 2.13 GAA and a .921 save percentage, posting one shutout. Those were the lowest GAA and highest save percentage of any season in his NHL career to date.

Korpisalo then signed with the Ottawa Senators, where he took on the heaviest workload of his career. In 2023-24 he started 55 games for Ottawa, going 21-26 with a 3.27 GAA and a .890 save percentage. It was his first season eclipsing 50 appearances.

He joined Boston ahead of the 2024-25 season. In 27 games with the Bruins that year, he went 11-10 with a 2.90 GAA, a .893 save percentage, and three shutouts — the most shutouts he has recorded in any single season of his NHL career. Through 2025-26, his 14th professional season, he has appeared in 31 games, going 14-9 with a 3.15 GAA and a .894 save percentage.

Across 334 career NHL regular-season games, Korpisalo holds 140 wins, 126 losses, 38 overtime losses, a career 3.06 GAA, a .900 save percentage, and 8 shutouts over 18,499:58 of ice time.

InGoal Magazine has covered Joonas Korpisalo in one InGoal article.