Bruins Won the Joonas Korpisalo Trade With the Rangers

It might be too early to say so, but the Boston Bruins won a trade.

It was a trade with the New York Rangers that sent goaltender Joonas Korpisalo to the Big Apple, while the Bruins received a 2028 fourth-round draft pick and prospect Kalle Vaisanen in return.

The move resulted in general manager Don Sweeney clearing $3 million in cap space, while adding to the Providence Bruins’ depth.

Without clearing Korpisalo’s cap hit, the Bruins would have even less money to augment the lineup with. This was a cost-saving move that should be viewed as addition by subtraction.

Korpisalo’s tenure with the Bruins was that of a typical backup goaltender. He played 58 games with a record of 25-19-9, a goals-against average (GAA) of 3.03, and a save percentage (SV%) of .894. His performance was good enough to help get the Bruins into the first round of the playoffs, but he only played one game in the playoffs for the Bruins, making six saves in 13 minutes against the Buffalo Sabres.

He wasn’t the kind of backup the Bruins needed, as the once-clutch player for the Columbus Blue Jackets has found himself out of Boston and headed to the Big Apple to take Jonathan Quick‘s spot behind Igor Shesterkin.

Korpisalo hasn’t been able to replicate his career year with the Blue Jackets in 2015-16, where he played 31 games, with a 2.60 GAA and a .920 SV%. It’s difficult to discern where his career will head in New York, behind another retooling team and lacking the star power it once had in Vincent Trocheck and Artemi Panarin, who have since left for other teams in the league.

What Kalle Vaisanen Offers the Bruins

Kalle Vaisanen may not be the guy who slots into the Bruins’ lineup right away, but he provides a meaningful service in Providence, where he’ll continue to develop. Last season with the Hartford Wolfpack, he played 51 games and recorded four points. Vaisanen joined the Wolfpack after signing his entry-level contract with the Rangers in April 2024.

He was loaned back to Ives of Liiga after playing three games in Hartford in 2023-24, and played the entire season in Finland, recording nine points in 48 games.

The Finnish-born right-winger was drafted in the fourth round (106th overall) by the Rangers in 2021. At 6-foot-5, 194 pounds, he looks to be primed to be a bottom-six forward in the Bruins organization.

Dobbers Prospects gave us an idea of what he could develop into:

Playmaking forward developing overseas for TPS in the Finnish League. Big bodied forward who utilizes his size and strength.

While Vaisanen isn’t a finished product, his profile suggests he could be a big-body playmaking forward in the bottom six of a team that’s building its identity once again.

Korpisalo’s Exit Allows for Promotion

With the Bruins’ trade of Korpisalo, not only did they clear cap space and acquire a fourth-round pick in Vaisanen, but they’ve also cleared the crease for a promotion.

“Yeah, primarily why,” Sweeney told me when asked if this trade was done to give DiPietro a clearer pathway to NHL minutes. “We just feel that Michael has earned this opportunity, and he comes in, not that Michael is ever going to worry about looking over his shoulder to say the truth, it’s just a real good opportunity for him now to come in and take the last two years in particular and apply it to the National Hockey League. You’re never going to know unless you get that opportunity, and at some point in time, the team has to provide it.”

That is one that I’ve advocated for, and that is giving Michael DiPietro a spot in the NHL as backup to the team’s starting goalie, Jeremy Swayman.

DiPietro finished the 2025-26 season with 45 games played, with 34 wins and eight losses, and a .930 SV%.

His ascension into the ranks of the Bruins roster for the 2026-27 season helps keep the Bruins’ cap situation healthy, while promoting someone deserving of it. Something we haven’t seen too often from the team, considering how they’ve treated Fabian Lysell and Matthew Poitras in the past.

Conclusion: The Bruins Haven’t Won the Offseason, But This Is a Plus

Sweeney has taken heat for his lack of action during the start of free agency, but is showing signs of life, with plans for the long term with these moves. They’re not major moves, but they have helped maintain cap space and given younger talent a well-deserved promotion.