When the Kings acquired Joonas Korpisalo from Columbus on March 1 they gave the red-bearded Finnish goaltender a warm welcome and an unenviable task: succeeding Jonathan Quick, who had been the backbone of the franchise’s two Stanley Cup championships and still had fans’ undying gratitude. for that despite the obvious slippage in his game.
Korpisalo, who was traded to the Kings with defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov for Quick and first- and third-round draft picks, has responded with calm confidence. Playing behind a defense fortified by Gavrikov’s size and smarts, Korpisalo is bringing stability to an area the Kings had to upgrade to have any hope of making a long playoff run. He has stopped 78 of 84 shots in winning his first three starts with his new team, a sure way to make new friends.
He’s not out to make anyone forget Quick. That’s not going to happen.
Nor is he Quick Lite. He doesn’t have to be.
“I’m just trying to be me, you know? No one else can be Jonathan Quick. He’s a living legend here. So no one can replace that guy. No one,” Korpisalo said after the team practiced Wednesday in El Segundo. “I’m just trying to be me and not replacing anyone, but just bringing myself here and doing the stuff I do best.”
Quick, who was flipped by Columbus to Vegas, has made a tremendous turnaround with the Golden Knights, going 4-0 with a 2.22 goals-against average and .930 save percentage in his first four starts. He was nowhere near that level with the Kings, compiling a 3.50 goals-against average and .876 save percentage in 31 appearances this season. That wasn’t going to be good enough.
Pheonix Copley kept the Kings afloat while Quick struggled and Cal Petersen fizzled out, but he has no NHL playoff experience. Korpisalo has played nine postseason games, all with the Blue Jackets in 2019-20, and has a 1.90 goals-against average and .941 save percentage. That likely will be enough to designate Korpisalo the playoff starter.
So far, though, Korpisalo has alternated starts with Copley, and it will be Copley’s turn Thursday when the Kings face Columbus in the third game of a seven-game homestand. Coach Todd McLellan said the coaching staff discussed interrupting that pattern to pit Korpisalo against his former team but decided to leave a good thing alone. It would have made for a nice story line — Gavrikov joked he was looking forward to facing “pretty much everyone” — but continuing the team’s recent strong run was foremost on McLellan’s mind.
“I don’t think it’s going to change. We’re going to keep doing what we’re doing,” McLellan said. “There’s no sense or need to get really sentimental.
“I know it’s Korpi’s former team. But Copley’s going to play. It’s the rotation we’ve been going. We don’t need to change anything. And that’s what we’re going with. We’re at a good spot right now. We want to stay in a good spot.”
Korpisalo, who is eligible for unrestricted free agency after the season, has made a painless transition to Los Angeles, other than getting caught in traffic Tuesday on what became a one-hour drive from the South Bay to Crypto.com Arena. “It’s something else,” he said. “In Columbus I lived across [from] the rink so I walked there every day. … It’s a lot different. But you get used to it pretty quickly.”
His adjustments on the ice have gone well. “The guys are doing a heck of a job letting me see the puck all the time. That helps my game a lot,” he said.
The adjustments go both ways. After so many years of hearing Quick’s voice and knowing Quick’s preferences in different situations, defenseman Drew Doughty understandably finds it strange to hear and see someone else in goal.
“I’m so used to knowing what Quickie exactly wanted me to do and I know what he was going to do,” Doughty said. “So it’s definitely an adjustment, but I think the adjustment’s gone really smoothly. Korpisalo is a really good goalie. Good guy. We have a lot of confidence in both our goalies right now. They’re both playing well. It will be interesting to see if one of them takes it over or what’s going to happen. I don’t know.
“It’s different not being here with Quickie, but as sad and disappointing as it was, we’ve got to move on. That’s just the bottom line.”
Defenseman Sean Walker said he had formed a relationship with Quick and had a feel for how Quick would play the puck. He’s now developing that with Korpisalo.
“He plays calm and he also calms us down a lot. He’ll make those big saves, he’ll freeze the puck when needed. He’s been great so far. His numbers show that,” Walker said. “It’s been great to have him around.”
Korpisalo spoke fondly of Columbus, which drafted him in the third round in 2012. He expected he’d feel “a little bit weird” to see his former teammates, even if he doesn’t have to face them.
“Eight years in a club — that’s a long time. I was fortunate enough to spend that many years in one club. I don’t think too many guys do that anymore in this league,” he said. “Great memories. Ups and downs. Everyone always supported the team there. It’s just a great place and great memories for me and great people.”
He’s not the second Jonathan Quick — he’s the first Joonas Korpisalo. The Kings are betting that will be enough. They can’t afford to be wrong.
This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.