The New York Rangers kicked off NHL free agency by making a move to solidify their goaltending depth. They traded for Joonas Korpisalo from the Boston Bruins, giving Igor Shesterkin a veteran backup for the next two seasons.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman broke the news Wednesday as the free agency window opened. The Rangers sent forward Kalle Vaisanen and a 2028 fourth-round pick to Boston in exchange for Korpisalo. The Bruins did not retain any of his salary, which means New York is taking on the full $4 million cap hit for the next two years.
Korpisalo, 32, has spent the last two seasons in Boston as Jeremy Swayman’s backup. He made 52 starts there and posted a .897 save percentage overall. Before that, he bounced around a bit — Los Angeles, Ottawa, and eight years in Columbus where he started his career. He’s not an elite goalie, but he’s durable and experienced. The Rangers are betting that’s enough behind Shesterkin, who just won the Vezina Trophy.
For Boston, this is a salary dump with potential upside. They get a 23-year-old winger in Vaisanen who hasn’t played an NHL game yet. He scored four points in 51 AHL games last season. That’s not great, but he was a fourth-round pick himself back in 2021. If the Bruins can develop him into anything useful, it’s a win. The 2028 fourth-rounder is just lottery ticket stuff.
The bigger question now is what Boston does next. They need a backup goalie. The free agent market has some options — David Rittich, Petr Mrazek, Cam Talbot. All three are veterans who could step in. Or they could look internally and go with a younger guy from Providence. It’s not a crisis, but it’s a hole they need to fill before training camp.
For the Rangers, the math is straightforward. They’re spending more on goalies this year than last, but the salary cap is going up and they still have room to work. Korpisalo’s contract is what it is. He’s not a star. But he’s a known quantity who can steal a game here and there and keep Shesterkin fresh for the playoffs.
The trade went down fast, which is how free agency tends to go. Teams don’t mess around. New York wanted a reliable backup, Boston wanted cap space and a young asset. They both got what they wanted, or at least what they could get.
Now the Bruins have to figure out who’s next in net. And the Rangers can move on to the rest of their offseason shopping list.
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