Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo to have season-ending hip surgery

Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, a pending unrestricted free agent, was mentioned prominently in trade rumors leading up to Monday’s deadline. He didn’t end up moving despite playing for a seller team destined to miss the playoffs. On Thursday, it became clearer why he wasn’t an option for goalie-starved teams seeking depth. The Columbus Blue Jackets announced Korpisalo needs hip surgery and will miss the remainder of 2021-22.

Korpisalo, 27, tended goal as recently as Tuesday night in a 5-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was playing through the injury.

“This is an injury that Joonas has been dealing with for some time and it has now gotten to the point where surgery is the best option,” said Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen in a release published by the team. “We are disappointed for him as he has worked extremely hard to be able to play, but this is the best course of action.”

The injury at least partially explains Korpisalo’s uncharacteristically poor performance this season. His career-worst .877 save percentage places him 69^th among 71 goaltenders who have appeared in 10 or more games in 2021-22. That said, his struggles extend further back than this season. Only once in his past five campaigns has he posted a save percentage north of .900.

Still, as he showed during Columbus’ 2019-20 playoff run, in which he posted a .941 SV% in the bubble, he still has potential to be an impactful NHL goaltender. Perhaps the hip procedure will get Korpisalo’s career back on track.