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Oilers May Be Keeping an Eye on Blue Jackets’ Joonas Korpisalo

If Mikko Koskinen’s performance on Wednesday concerns the Edmonton Oilers at all, Joonas Korpisalo may be someone the team watches closely.

It’s only one game, but Mikko Koskinen’s poor performance on Wednesday evening for the Edmonton Oilers has reminded fans that there’s a potential issue in goal for this team and one that might need to be addressed at some point during the 2021-22 NHL season. Could the answer be Joonas Korpisalo from the Columbus Blue Jackets?

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In a game head coach, Dave Tippett called one the best the Oilers had played all season, Koskinen faltered. He struggled at times, wandering out of the net twice early which created scoring chances for the Flyers and an early goal, and he let in a couple he would have liked to have back, making 29 saves on 33 shots for a .879 save percentage.

If you couple this troubling game with injury news that has already hit Mike Smith, you can see why fans are a bit concerned.

The injury to Smith isn’t serious and he should be able to play Saturday night. At the same time, one of the bigger concerns going into the year was that his age would be a factor as would his health. A minor injury early in the year seemed to prove that there should be some concern. Koskinen played well for two games, but his third wasn’t pretty. The result was the Oilers’ first loss of the season.

Mikko Koskinen Joonas Korpisalo Trade rumors
Mikko Koskinen Joonas Korpisalo Trade rumors

Is There An Answer Out There for the Oilers?

David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period writes that Joonas Korpisalo is a goaltender who will likely be available on the trade market before the NHL trade deadline passes. He’s a netminder the Oilers were rumored to have looked into this offseason, but his numbers weren’t much better than Koskinen’s. What if Korpisalo has a strong season?

If he ups his numbers, this could be a goalie the Oilers look at. Koskinen is not going to be a netminder the Oilers invest in long-term and Smith has one more season after this one. Korpisalo is in the final year of his contract, which comes with a $2.8 million salary-cap hit. He’d be a rental the Oilers wouldn’t have to commit to and could explore the free-agent market this summer, should they so choose.

Next: Three Takeaways from the Maple Leafs 3-2 Win Over the Blackhawks

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