One of the offseason priorities for the Columbus Blue Jackets this year was addressing the goaltending position.
The Blue Jackets made a major stride in that direction, then, today as the club announced it has signed goaltender Joonas Korpisalo to a two-year contract extension.
#CBJ sign Joonas Korpisalo to a two-year contract extension.https://t.co/9SjeLCYtUV
— ColumbusBlueJackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) June 9, 2017
As usual, per team policy, terms of the deal were not announced, but Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reports the extension will carry a cap hit of $900,000.
The deal will pay Korpisalo $700k this coming season and $1.1 million in 2018-18. Salary cap hit of $900k. He would have been RFA on 7/1.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) June 9, 2017
Korpisalo, 23, was a restricted free agent. He has posted a 23-16-5 record with a 2.68 goals-against average, .915 save percentage and one shutout in 45 career NHL games, all with Columbus.
A third-round pick in the 2012 draft, Korpisalo started 30 games when starter Sergei Bobrovsky and Curtis McElhinney were injured in 2015-16, going 16-11-4 with a 2.60 GAA and .920 save percentage while looking the part of an NHL starter. This past year, he became the full-time backup after the release of McElhinney and went 7-5-1 in 13 games with a 2.88 GAA and .905 SV%.
There have been rumors the Blue Jackets have been in talks with the Vegas Golden Knights to come up with a deal that would allow them to keep Korpisalo in the upcoming expansion draft, a situation that continues to bear watching. But with Korpisalo still young and Bobrovsky the likely Vezina winner, it appears the Jackets' netminding situation is now set going into the 2017-18 season.
In addition, the Blue Jackets announced the signing of a pair of players to two-way NHL/AHL contracts. Forward Zac Dalpe signed a two-year deal while defenseman Dean Kukan inked a one-year deal.
Dalpe, a 27-year-old former Ohio State player, was acquired midway through this past season and posted a 8-6-14 line with 22 penalty minutes in 20 games with the AHL's Cleveland Monsters. He has 12 goals and 12 assists in 128 games with four NHL teams.
Kukan, 23, recorded four goals and 25 assists for 29 points with 43 penalty minutes in 72 games last year with Cleveland and also took part in the IIHF World Championships for his native Switzerland. He had an eight-game NHL debut with Columbus in 2015-16 and was plus-9 with zero points.
