Jeremy Swayman didn’t give Joonas Korpisalo the cold shoulder after the Boston Bruins traded Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators.
Instead, Swayman opened up his arms to Korpisalo as if it were a goalie hug.
“He reached out to me right away,” Korpisalo told reporters Wednesday, per team-provided video. “He texted me and I had a warm welcome to Boston. We tried to catch up for a call the last couple of days, but I think we’ll manage to do it. He seems like a great guy. Can’t wait to meet him and get to work with him.”
Korpisalo will now try to slide into being Swayman’s backup — Brandon Bussi will challenge for that job as well — after a subpar last season with the Ottawa Senators, in which the 30-year-old posted a 21-26-4 record with a 3.27 goals-against average and a .890 save percentage.
The Finnish netminder is familiar with playing behind star goaltenders as he served as a backup to Sergei Bobrovsky, who just won a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers, for the first three seasons of his career with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Korpisalo’s most difficult assignment with the Bruins might not come on the ice, but in trying to form chemistry with Swayman. Swayman and Ullmark captivated Bruins fans with their friendship and, of course, famous celebration after wins.
Korpisalo might not become best friends with Swayman like Ullmark did, but he admires the play of the Bruins goalie and wants to form a solid relationship.
“First of all, it’s so much fun to watch him play,” Korpisalo said. “The technique is there, the game sense is there. Everything is there. It’s the whole package. It’s fun to watch him play, especially when you’re in the other end trying to beat him. Now being on the same team and obviously knowing how good of a relationship he had with Linus, he seems like a great guy and I’m looking forward to meet him and get to know him and spend time with him on the ice and off the ice. That’s how it starts.”
