Columbus Blue Jackets scratch Joonas Korpisalo for ‘trade-related reasons’

Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Joonas Korpisalo will miss Tuesday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres due to “trade-related reasons,” the club announced via its public relations Twitter account.

Korpisalo, 28, is 11–11–3 with a .913 save percentage through 28 appearances with the last-place Blue Jackets this season. The Pori, Finland product is under contract at a $1.3 million cap hit for the 2022–23 season, after which he’ll be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent.

In corresponding moves, the Blue Jackets recalled goaltender Jet Greaves and demoted defenseman Billy Sweezey to the American Hockey League.

The Blue Jackets originally selected Korpisalo in the third round (No. 62 overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft. The six-foot-three, 193-pound goaltender made his NHL debut with the Blue Jackets during the 2015–16 season and has remained with the club ever since, save for occasional stints with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters.

After back-to-back injury-plagued seasons in which he posted save percentages of .894 and .877, Korpisalo has rebounded in a big way for the Blue Jackets in 2022–23 — particularly as Elvis Merzlikins has faltered. Now, it just remains to be seen which team will step up to acquire his services.

Through 210 career games with the Blue Jackets, Korpisalo has posted an 87–78–24 record to go along with a .902 save percentage. He’s also appeared in nine playoff games, going 3–5 with a .941 (most notably making 85 saves in a single appearance against the Tampa Bay Lightning back in 2020).

The Blue Jackets will return to action on Tuesday evening when they visit the Sabres at KeyBank Center in Buffalo at 7:30 p.m. ET. Korpisalo is the second Blue Jackets player to be held out of the lineup for trade-related reasons, joining defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.