3 Goalies the Toronto Maple Leafs should pursue at NHL Trade Deadline

Should they bank on Joonas Korpisalo regaining his prior form?

The Columbus Blue Jackets seemed to have a luxury with Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins as a tandem. You might remember what Korpisalo did in the playoffs with Columbus in the bubble when he had a 1.90 GAA and a .941 sv% in nine games including an 85(!) save performance against the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

Since then, the 27-year-old’s production has dropped off and missed time with a lower-body injury. This is also not the same Blue Jackets that was a better defensive team under John Tortorella and clearly going through a transitional period.

Koorpisalo is also going to be an unrestricted free agent and the Blue Jackets likely move on from him considering Merzlikins is their starter going forward. He definitely would be a game for the Leafs but Columbus definitely shouldn’t be looking to get a lot back in return unless they maximize on their return if they retain some of his cap hit.

Don’t be mistaken that by trading for Koorpisalo the Leafs will have solved their goaltending problem and really this would be a similar move as to when they traded for David Rittich. As long as the Blue Jackets don’t expect to come away with any significant assets in return, Toronto should consider looking at Koorpisalo over someone like Jaroslav Halak who has a bonus overage for next season which isn’t ideal for a cap strapped team.