– We are here at the airport, there is no time to talk today. Let’s try again tomorrow, he replies Jonas Korpisalo to the interview request late on Wednesday evening Finnish time.
This is the everyday life of a recently traded NHL player. The Columbus goalie’s life changed on the first day of March with one phone call.
You call the team’s general manager Jarmo From Keke are not an everyday delicacy, but often important.
There are two days until the transfer window closes and the Finn’s contract expires in the summer, so the topic of the call is easy to guess.
The short conversation includes the announcement that the 28-year-old goalkeeper has been pulled aside from the lineup for the Buffalo match due to a possible club transfer.
The next hours pass in a confused mood. The Sabers fight is being followed in a small state of shock, as confirmation of the transfer has not yet been heard.
Confirmation comes on the way home in the team’s private plane.
Ravenclaw and defender Vladislav Gavrikov going to the Los Angeles Kings in a trade Stanley Cup winner Jonathan to Quick and for two booking shifts.
On the plane, there is time to say goodbye to teammates and other staff, who have become an extremely important support network over the course of eight seasons.
After the plane lands, there are dozens of messages waiting on the phone. A call home reveals that the transfer has become public knowledge during the flight.
The questions of the home crowd are very simple: how do you feel and what’s next?
The mood starts to turn from shock to excitement, a flight to the California sun awaits in the morning.
Big spring ahead
Finally, the video connection to Los Angeles will be arranged in two days.
– In Jut’s words, we’ve just moved on here, the new Kings goalkeeper opens the conversation.
The player from Vantaa, who has played his entire career so far in the shirt of Columbus, has been involved in transfer rumors before. However, the Jokerit breeder has not given much importance to hearsay.
– Of course I have realized that trading is possible, Korpisalo admits.
– Maybe it’s some kind of personal protection mechanism, that you don’t worry too much about what the future will bring.
This season, the belt has accumulated 28 matches with a save percentage of 91.3. An average of 3.17 goals have slipped behind the back per match.
Korpisalo’s contract only covers this spring and there is no information on the extension. It brings additional motivation.
– Of course I want to play as many games as possible. I want to make an impact on this team and my next contract at the same time.
“Quite a circus”
At the time of the interview, Joonas Korpisalo has two ice practices with the new team behind him. The next day, a baptism of fire awaits in the home cave of the Kings.
It went well. The Kings took a 4–2 victory over the St. Louis Blues, and Korpisalo blocked 24 shots.
– The team is tough and the mood is very high. Everyone wants to play in the playoffs and now there is a chance. I hope the booth catches on, Korpisalo opens his first contact with the Kings team.
The room service has delivered lunch to the hotel room, as an interview with the NHL’s media team awaits right after.
– Here at the end, the team has taken care of everything to the last detail. It’s made it easier, but it’s still been quite a circus, the goalkeeper laughs.
The biggest differences between Columbus and Los Angeles have already become familiar to Korpisalo during the first few days.
The traffic jams of Los Angeles are far from the glamor of Hollywood.
– In Columbus, I walked to the arcade, here we sit in the car for an hour on the way to the arcade, the Pori-born veskari updates.
Although so far the time has been spent in the hotel room and at the ice rink, there has also been some getting used to the California weather.
– The sun shines all the time, Finns are not quite used to it yet. I haven’t gotten around to buying sunscreen yet, but isn’t there time to take care of that too?