Blue Jackets’ Joonas Korpisalo to Miss Remainder of 2021-22 Season Due to Hip Surgery
Nearing the final month of the 2021-22 season, the Columbus Blue Jackets have been dealt another tough blow as goaltender Joonas Korpisalo won’t play again this season.
In a press release on Thursday, the Blue Jackets announced that Korpisalo will be forced to undergo season-ending hip surgery, cutting short his seventh NHL campaign.
Sadly, this injury isn’t something that has recently flared up on Korpisalo. In fact, it’s been nagging him for an extended portion of the regular season, only now has it reached the point of no return.
“This is an injury that Joonas has been dealing with for some time and it has now gotten to the point where surgery is the best option,” general manager Jarmo Kekalainen explained via Columbus’ press release. “We are disappointed for him as he has worked extremely hard to be able to play, but this is the best course of action.”
With fellow netminder Elvis Merzlikins also on the shelf, who’s considered week-to-week with an upper-body injury, the Blue Jackets are currently running pretty thin in goal. For now, the starting reins will be handed to veteran Jean-Francois Berube.
For Korpisalo, 27, this injury couldn’t have come at a worse time as he’s in the final season of his two-year, $5.6-million contract. Once this off-season begins, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent who’s coming off major surgery.
Depleting his value even further, the 6’3” netminder didn’t enjoy much success in 2021-22, where he posted career-worsts in goals-against average (4.15) and save percentage (.877) in 22 games.
At his age, following this type of performance, there might not be many suitors lining up for his services in free agency.
Competing in the stacked Eastern Conference, Columbus currently sits fifth in the Metropolitan Division with a 32-29-3 record and 67 points. Unfortunately, this likely won’t be enough to reach the playoffs as they’re 13 points behind the second wild-card seed with only 18 contests remaining.
The Blue Jackets are scheduled to continue their three-game road trip against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, beginning at 8:00 pm ET.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Pens Through My Lens. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.