Kekalainen says best is yet to come for Korpisalo

The Blue Jackets' faith in Joonas Korpisalo paid off handsomely this year, as the goaltender turned in an impressive season and earned an All-Star berth in the first campaign after the departure of longtime Columbus backstop Sergei Bobrovsky.

And now, that performance has paid off for Korpisalo. The Blue Jackets announced a two-year contract extension for the netminder, who turns 26 later this month, on Friday afternoon.

"I think it's great," general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "He earned the contract. He's played great. He's improved year after year and got a great opportunity to play more this year and earned an All-Star berth. I think we all believe that he has his best years ahead of him."

If that's the case, the Blue Jackets will be thrilled after Korpisalo has just got better and better as this season went along. After four years spent largely as Bobrovsky's understudy, the Finnish goalie excelled with more playing time this season, going 19-12-5 with a 2.60 goals-against average and .911 save percentage in a career-high 37 games to this point.

His numbers have improved as the year went on as well. In his final 27 appearances of the season, Korpisalo was 14-8-4 with a 2.31 GAA and .920 save percentage and two shutouts; in his last 15 games, he was even better, posting an 8-2-4 mark with a 2.21 GAA and .926 save percentage and was a key part of the Blue Jackets' turnaround from a sluggish start to the 2019-20 season.

While Korpisalo was unable to take part in January's All-Star Weekend festivities because of a knee injury suffered in the midst of a red-hot run of play on Dec. 29 in a shootout vs. Chicago, he again proved that he has what it takes to be a goalie who is depended upon in the National Hockey League.

"We all thought he was extremely talented," Kekalainen said when asked about if club brass had always seen that level of play in Korpisalo. "I think the mental side of being able to handle the pressure of playing more and carrying the load more, carrying the responsibility more, that is one thing to see. Also the physical side of playing, sometimes back-to-backs or three games in a week rather than one game in three weeks, it's just completely different (from his previous role) but he prepared himself hard for the challenge and showed us he can do it."

Korpisalo first debuted for the Blue Jackets in 2015-16 as injuries to Bobrovsky and Curtis McElhinney vaulted the then-21-year-old into the spotlight. He started 30 games that season, going 16-11-4 with a 2.60 GAA and .920 save percentage, then settled in as the top backup the past three seasons before this year.

That experience allowed the Blue Jackets to go into this season with confidence Korpisalo could team with another talented goaltender in Elvis Merzlikins to fill the hole left by Bobrovsky's offseason departure to Florida, and the two did just that for a team that has worked its way into playoff contention.

After a bumpy start, Merzlikins posted a 13-9-8 record, 2.35 GAA and .923 save percentage along with five shutouts, and the Blue Jackets' team save percentage of .913 is fifth in the league.

"That's the reason why we didn't go out and sign anybody this summer," Kekalainen said. "We believed in our two young goaltenders to be able to take the responsibility with Bobrovsky gone, and we gave them that opportunity and they made the most of it. They earned it and proved that we were right having that faith in them. It was great to see."

Now, one half of the duo is under contract for the next two years, and Kekalainen said negotiations with Merzlikins - who earlier this month turned 26 and is also a restricted free agent going into next season - are ongoing as well.

"It's great that we have two young goalies like that," Kekalainen said. "It's a great situation for us, and I think the future is only going to get better for those two."