The Boston Bruins had to deal with the Ottawa Senators' disastrous decision on Joonas Korpisalo

After the 2023/24 season, one thing was clear: the Boston Bruins would split their goaltending tandem of Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark. GM Don Sweeney traded Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators and the return was a bit confusing.

Sweeney received a 2024 first-round draft pick, forward Mark Kastelic, who fits very well on the Bruins' fourth line, and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo. It wasn't the return Bruins fans were hoping for at the time. Now they have to deal with the disastrous decision made by the Ottawa front office.

Joonas Korpisalo was ranked as the worst goalkeeper contract

James Mirtle of The Athletic has assessed the goalkeeper's worst contracts and expensive replacements and listed the 12 worst contracts. The fact that Korpisalo made it to number 1 was through no fault of his own. The Senators' front office handed out a five-year, $20 million contract with an AAV of $4 million. Aside from one good season, he's struggled and last season was about as bad as it gets for someone with the contract he was given.

During the 2023-24 season with the Senators, he went 21-26-4 with a 3.27 GAA and an .890 SV%. Ottawa couldn't get out of that contract fast enough and Sweeney was there to help . Now, it should be noted that the Senators will withhold $1 million of Korpisalo's salary, while the Black and Gold will have to pay $3 million.

Boston is hoping goaltending coach Bob Essensa can help them turn things around, and so far the results through two games have been as you'd expect. There is a buyout option for the Bruins, but it's unlikely that will ever happen. However, if Brandon Bussi continues to play well with the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League (AHL), Sweeney will consider a decision.

Sweeney had to and did spend money this offseason, but if they want to gobble up $3 million for Korpisalo this season and possibly beyond, then perhaps holding on to Ullmark would have been the way to go. Instead, Bruins fans are hoping their new goaltender plays fewer than 25 games in the 2024-25 season, otherwise things could get dicey with Korpisalo between the goals.