After a trade with the Boston Bruins fell through, Jarmo Kekalainen managed to salvage the trade deadline by trading both Joonas Korpisalo and Vladislav Gavrikov to the LA Kings. In the return is goalie Jonathan Quick. Quick has struggled in the last five seasons, but his contract expires at the end of this season and his presence allows the Blue Jackets to keep Tarasov in Cleveland. The deal is not official yet, and there may be some conditions involved, but expect the full details to be released later this morning.
Deal will be announced later this morning by #CBJ and #LAKings, but told the deal is this:
To #LAKings:
D Vladislav Gavrikov
G Joonas KorpisaloTo #CBJ:
G Jonathan Quick
First-round pick
Third-round pick— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) March 1, 2023
In some ways it’s unfortunate that the trade deadline has created a culture in the NHL where players are shipped away before their contracts expire. Both Gavrikov and Korpisalo are beloved by Columbus fans and have cemented themselves in the long-term memories of the Union faithful.
Korpisalo has played eight seasons in Columbus and combined for a 3.06 GAA and a .903 save percentage. He’s certainly been an up and down goalie, but has played consistently well this season. His most notable moment in Columbus was his 85 save effort against the Lightning in the five overtime playoff marathon. On that day, he broke the NHL record for saves in a game.
Gavrikov played for the Blue Jackets for four seasons after coming over from the KHL. In that short time, he won the hearts of many fans with his goofy off-ice personality and his tough, gritty style of hockey on the ice. He scored 15 goals in Columbus and tallied 58 assists. His patented telephone goal celebration will be missed.
Best of luck to these two amazing people — you will always be Columbus Blue Jackets.